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FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 







PRINCIPAL GATEWAY. 



imsi pills Ctmetcrg : 



ESTABLISHMENT, PROGRESS, SCENERY, 
MONUMENTS, ETC. 



WITH TEN ILLUSTRATIONS. 



O Grave I well might each thoughtful race 
Give thee the high and holy place : 
Mountains and groves were meet for thee, 
Thou portal of eternity." Mary Howitt 



R X B U R Y: 

PUBLISHED BY JOHN BACKUP. 

1855. 



-rrcr 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by W. A. 
Crafts, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United 
States for the District of Massachusetts. 



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PREFACE 



Forest Hills Cemetery, although of recent 
origin^ has rapidly grown in public favor, and the 
number of those who are now interested in it is 
so large, that the publication of a book giving 
an account of its establishment, its consecration, 
scenery, monuments, etc., may at least prove 
acceptable to many persons. This volume has 
been prepared rather for the use of proprietors 
of burial lots there, or others who are interested 
in the sacred spot by tender associations, than 
for the general reader, who might perhaps find 
too much of detail and dulness in its pages. 

To the general history and description given 
in the body of the book, an Appendix has been 
added, containing all the official papers relating 
to the Cemetery, the acts, ordinances, regulations, 



iv PREFACE. 

forms of deeds, and other matters of especial 
interest to proprietors, and a catalogue of pro- 
prietors down to the time of publication. 

The illustrations are from drawings made by 
Mr. Benjamin Worcester, engraved by Mr. John 
Andrew. It was thought that a few views of the 
kind here given would be more acceptable and 
more appropriate to the volume, as they certainly 
are more tasteful, than a larger number of cuts 
representing only the monuments. It was diffi- 
cult, however, to select views which might gener- 
ally be thought the most attractive, or especially 
worthy of being comprised in so small a number. 
The object was to present the scenery of the 
different parts of the Cemetery, and some of its 
most striking characteristics. 

Such as it is, the volume is submitted to those 
interested in the Cemetery, in the hope that it 
may, in some degree, prove an acceptable and 
useful book. 

RoxBURY, October, 1855. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Introduction 1 

Establishment and Progress of Forest Hills 17 

Commissioners 50 

Consecration, and Kev. Dr. Putnam's Address 55 

Scenery and Beauties 77 

Monuments 103 

Epitaphs 142 

Reveries at Forest Hills 152 



Appendix 173 

1. Communication of Mayor Clarke, etc. 

2. Gen. Dearborn's Report. 

3. Orders for purchase of lands. 

4. Acts of the Legislature relative to the Cemetery. 

5. Ordinance establishing Name. 

6. Ordinance establishing Form of Deed. 

7. Procession at the Consecration. 

8. Area of land and cost. 

9. Debt for land. 

10. Receipts and Expenditures. 

11. Form of receipt for perpetual care of lots. 

12. Regulations for visitors. 

13. Tombs, Fences, Monuments, etc. 

14. Avenues and paths. 

15. Catalogue of Proprietors. 



INTRODUCTION 



Within the last twenty-five years public senti- 
ment in this country, or in this section of the 
country, has made a marked and praiseworthy 
progress in relation to the places set apart for 
the burial of the dead. Previous to that time 
burial places had been only desolate graveyards, 
overgrown with long grass and noxious weeds, 
and with little else of vegetation, save, perhaps, 
here and there a neglected tree which shaded 
some forgotten grave. Dilapidated fences, crum- 
bling tombs, prostrate headstones, neglected 
graves on which no turf had been laid or stone 
reared, made such spots gloomy and repulsive. 
Even down to the present time such is the char- 
acter of too many of the burial places of pleasant, 
thriving towns. But a change has come over the 
aspect of many others, and the good taste and 
reverence for the dead which led to the establish- 
ment of Mt. Auburn, the first cemetery of the 



2 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

kind in the country, has extended far and wide to 
large towns and small hamlets ; ancient burial 
places have been improved and ornamented, and 
more extensive and appropriate grounds are set 
apart as the resting place of the departed. 

Though we call this improvement in public sen- 
timent a progress of later years, it cannot be 
claimed as an idea of this enlightened age. It is 
rather a return to the practice of former times, 
the revival of old ideas, the learning of a lesson 
from the ancients and from heathen, but improved 
by the spirit of Christianity and the refinements 
of modern times ; but more than all it is the ex- 
pression of feelings natural to the human heart. 

The ancient Hebrews selected for the burial of 
their dead some secluded field, " with all the trees 
therein and the borders round about," places be- 
yond the limits of their cities or the ordinary re- 
sorts of the living, where they buried them " under 
a tree," upon some hill or in some valley, or gar- 
den, as the scriptures record. A sacred example 
was the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was laid, 
which had been prepared in a garden near the 
base of Calvary. The ancient Egyptians exca- 
vated tombs with wonderful art and labor in the 
rocks and forest clad hills which overlook the 
upper Nile, and built their cities of the dead with 
as much concern and care as they did their cities 



INTRODUCTION. 3 

of the living, and quite apart from the latter. The 
Greeks buried in beautiful groves, in lonely and 
secluded spots, sometimes by the side of highways 
where elegant monuments were shaded by the 
cypress or the palm tree, or in their public ceme- 
teries, " places of repose," which were away from 
the abodes of the living multitude, and where often 
the sculptor's choicest works and nature's beau- 
ties were combined to honor the memory of the 
dead, or to soothe the grief of the living. The 
Romans, like the Greeks deposited the ashes of 
their dead along the sides of their public thorough- 
fares, and the Appian Way was bordered with 
monuments to their heroes and illustrious men, 
not erected in a neglected waste, but where be- 
neath luxuriant foliage the inscriptions bade the 
" traveler pause " and give a passing thought to 
the memory of the dead. And yet 

** In the dark bosom of the earth they laid 
Far more than we, — for loftier faith is ours ! 

Their gems were lost in ashes — yet they made 
The grave a place of beauty and of flowers, 

With fragrant wreaths and summer boughs arrayed, 

And lovely sculpture gleaming through the shade. 

Is it for us a darker gloom to shed 
O'er its dim precincts?" 

The aboriginal Germans deposited the dead in 
deep, shadowy groves, consecrated by solemn rites 



4 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

to this sacred purpose. Even the American In- 
dians selected secluded spots, in the primeval 
forests, wherein to bury their warriors, and to 
which they clung with greater tenacity than to 
their hunting grounds, as they were driven west- 
ward. So have most savage people sacred and 
beautiful groves or hills dedicated to the repose 
of their dead. 

The Mohammedan Turks carrying their dead 
beyond the limits of their cities and villages to 
extensive cemeteries, in most cases plant a cypress 
over each grave ; and thus have they reared those 
solemn groves which stretch along the Asiatic 
shore of the Bosphorus where the dead of Con- 
stantinople are buried. Those dark groves, in- 
deed, combine the expression of a national senti- 
ment with a reverence for the dead ; for the Turks 
believe that some time they will be compelled to 
relinquish their European possessions and to re- 
tire to Asia, and hence it is with them a sacred 
duty to bury the faithful Moslem in soil which 
shall still remain safe from the desecration of the 
Giaour. 

In various parts of Europe rural cemeteries 
have been established since the commencement of 
the present century, in many cases bringing about 
an entire change in the manner of disposing of the 
dead. The most noted of these, and the first one 



INTRODUCTION. $ 

on an extensive scale was the celebrated cemetery 
of Pere he Chaise^ at Paris. But before that 
was contemplated there were beautiful, shady- 
churchyards in English villages where the dead 
were laid at rest, and the living were wont to 

"Watch the sunshine through all hours, 
Loving and clinging to the grassy spot, 
And dress its greensward with fresh flowers." 

In Hungary humble graves were adorned with 
flowers, and proud mausoleums were erected in 
secluded spots and surrounded with trees and 
flowers, where the living often came to mourn 
their dead. In Switzerland, the little burial 
places of the Alpine villages were made beautiful 
by the unafi*ected love of those who planted flow- 
ers upon the graves of the departed, or hung gar- 
lands upon the simple crosses that commemorate 
them. The establishment of ornamental ceme- 
teries in the vicinity of large towns was but the 
cultivation of the refined taste and reverent re- 
gard for the dead which had hitherto found ex- 
pression chiefly in simple, rural life. 

The early settlers of this country, especially 
the Puritan colonists brought little of that refined 
sentiment which finds consolation in laying the re- 
mains of beloved ones in pleasant places, and 
a2 



6 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

adorning their graves with the beautiful of nature 
and art. Their austere religion paid little regard 
to such things, or rather forbade them. To that 
the gloomy aspect of the grave was more congen- 
ial and appropriate. They buried their dead with 
proper concern and due ceremonies, and often 
reared over their graves stones which recorded 
the virtues of the good ; but there was no path- 
way to those graves worn by mourning friends ; 
none went thither to protect the turf or to plant 
trees and flowers over them. When their dead 
were buried out of their sight they cherished their 
memories in the heart, but made no votive offer- 
ings at the grave. 

In some cases the early colonists selected eleva- 
ted and grand sites for their burial places, which 
looked out upon the sea or over the abodes of the 
living. The old Winslow burial place at Marsh- 
field, that at Plymouth, Copps Hill burial ground 
in Boston, and some others are examples. But it 
was too often the case, if we can judge from the 
relative position of old burial grounds now, that 
they selected places neither secluded, beautiful or 
picturesque. This is the more true of the succes- 
sors to the first settlers, perhaps, than of the Pil- 
grims and their contemporaries. A piece of land 
was set apart for the " burying ground," rather 
for its convenience, the nature of th« soil and such 



INTRODUCTION. 7 

considerations. Though the primeval forests were 
about them, and space almost illimitable, they 
chose too often some contracted place where the 
woods were cleared, and sometimes in low and 
most inappropriate situations. Had the men of 
those times set apart more extensive lands, with 
the trees of the forest still upon them, or had they 
like the Turks planted a tree or shrub over each 
grave, how different now would appear the ancient 
burial places of New England ! 

The descendants of the Pilgrims arc most re- 
sponsible for the desolate and repulsive appear- 
ance and condition of these old cemeteries. They 
closely followed the bad example of the forefath- 
ers, without the redeeming qualities which the lat- 
ter sometimes exhibited in the choice of sites. 
They continued to carry the dead to the old 
burial grounds, which they suffered to become 
more desolate and neglected than in their earlier 
days, until more room was required, and then a 
new field — perhaps a little larger and even less 
attractive in its aspect — was selected, enclosed 
and left unadorned and in a short time uncared 
for. 

Thus it was for two hundred years in our older 
towns ; when cemeteries might have been growing 
more beautiful and more sacred by their beauty, 
and their records of the dead mio-ht have been 



8 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

more carefully preserved; they have become more 
and more repulsive, inscriptions have been oblit- 
erated, stones broken or buried, and each genera- 
tion has seemed to vie with its predecessor in 
doing as little as possible for the embellishment 
and even ordinary neatness and preservation of 
the grounds and their contents. Moreover, as the 
population has increased, and small villages have 
grown to thriving towns and large, densely inhab- 
ited cities, those burial grounds are in the midst 
of the habitations of the living, mere yards of un- 
turfed graves and unsightly rows of charnel houses. 
Each year the burials have become more numer- 
ous, and from this constant increase and the mode 
of burial, it has at last been considered that such 
cemeteries in the midst of the living are prejudi- 
cial to health, as well as disagreeable to the eye. 
And so utility, necessity finally accomplished what 
taste alone could not. 

It was only necessary, however, that the first 
step should be taken in order to secure a reform 
in these things. When Mt. Auburn was laid out, 
a beautiful example of what the resting place of 
the dead should be, communities as well as indi- 
viduals became sensible of the defects and insuffi- 
ciency of the common burial grounds. Similar 
cemeteries were soon after established in the 
vicinity of other large cities in the country ; and 



INTRODUCTION. d 

these in their turn exerted a good influencCj so 
that rural cemeteries were next established in or 
near towns of less magnitude, and public sentiment 
began to demand that the old burial places should 
be better cared for and, at least, rendered less re- 
pulsive. There were, indeed, some few spots used 
for burial, before the establishment of Mt. Auburn, 
which gave evidence of good taste and a proper 
regard for the dead. But most of the cemeteries 
which now make any pretence to rural embellish- 
ment, have been established since the consecration 
of Mt. Auburn, and are in no small measure the 
result of the influence of such an example on pub- 
lic sentiment. From that time rural and garden 
cemeteries have been increasing, and a refined 
taste in regard to this subject has been extending. 
Most of the extensive rural cemeteries, like Mt. 
Auburn, are private establishments, projected and 
controlled by individuals. They answer the de- 
mands of good taste and pecuniary means among 
a portion of the community, and contribute to the 
elevation of public sentiment in regard to this 
subject ; but they do not supply the whole want, 
and afford alike to the high and the low, the rich 
and the poor, the consolation of laying the remains 
of their friends in grounds made beautiful as well 
as sacred by the hand of taste. The time had not 
come, and indeed, has not yet come, when individ- 



10 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

ualS; society, communities; which make up the 
body politic, are ready to adopt the same princi- 
ple or sentiment in public action, which operates 
upon them in private. Acknowledging the pro- 
priety of adorning the grave, and of a reverential 
care for the dead, admitting the necessity of aban- 
doning intramural burials, they are slow to act 
upon these demands of necessity and good taste 
by establishing burial places similar to Mt. Auburn 
or Greenwood or Laurel Hill. But looking at the 
progress of public sentiment it may be hoped that 
the time is not far distant when public cemeteries 
shall be on a scale, in extent and embellishment, 
corresponding to the wealth, intelligence and re- 
finement of communities for whom they are estab- 
lished. 

Forest Hills Cemetery is believed to be the 
first one of the kind established by any city or 
town, in this section of the country at least, as the 
public burial place of its inhabitants."^ One of the 
necessary duties of municipal governments is to 
provide burial places, but the duty has been per- 

* It cannot be said that the Cemetery was established ex- 
clusively for the use of the inhabitants of Roxbury. Its 
proximity to Boston and a large suburban population was 
duly considered in its establishment, and it was designed to 
meet in some degree the wants of these, as well as of the 
municipality by which it was established. 



INTRODUCTION. 1 1 

formed too often in the disreputable manner be- 
fore spoken of. " Room for the dead " was the 
only demand that was answered, even when the 
public taste accustomed to better things as ex- 
hibited in the private cemeteries, could not be 
satisfied by any such measure. Public taste and 
public spirit, or public taste and the public finan- 
ces are too often very great strangers, and some- 
times, indeed, are considered positive and irrecon- 
cilable enemies to each other. It has been thought 
and said that those whose pecuniary means would 
permit them to have a private burial lot could 
purchase such in some of the private cemeteries, 
and those for whom the public must provide a 
place of interment should neither expect nor de- 
sire more than the common grave in an unembel- 
lished yard. But taste and refined feelings are not 
measured by wealth, nor are they confined to the 
opulent. The poor as well as the rich have tears 
to shed over the grave, and flowers to plant there, 
if they may but lay their lost ones where every- 
thing is not so gloomy and repulsive as to forbid 
them. Even those to whom the cares and bur- 
dens of a toilsome life, or perchance the errors of 
a sinful one, afford little opportunity for the indul- 
gence of sentiment or the cultivation of refined 
taste, may, when following their dead to a grave 
where all around is beautiful, receive impressions 



12 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

never to be forgotten, which shall purify their 
hearts, awaken aspirations which they never felt 
before, or open new and pure sources of pleasure. 
A pious regard for the dead which leads to a 
decorous care for the places of their interment 
should not be confined to a class, but, as an almost 
universal sentiment, it should be especially a char- 
acteristic of an enlightened Christian community. 
And what is a pure as well as a natural sentiment 
should not be left for private indulgence only, but 
should be publicly regarded and fostered by law 
and by municipal authorities. The law does its 
part by protecting and making sacred those places 
which are devoted to burial. Why should not the 
people, or those whose care and duty it is to pro- 
vide these places, carry out the idea and make 
them sacred to the affections as well as in law, by 
selecting beautiful sites and bestowing upon them 
something of the care and embellishment that are 
bestowed upon and around the abodes of the liv- 
ing ? The character of a community may thus be 
surely though imperceptibly refined; and, more 
than this, the spirit of patriotism may be elevated 
and strengthened. For if you make your ceme- 
teries beautiful, and places of frequent visitation, 
you strengthen in no small degree the tie which 
binds those who are wont to visit them to their 
country. The spot where their fathers and their 



INTRODUCTION. 13 

friends are buried, if it possess tliosc charms 
which impress the heart and gratify the taste, will 
never be forgotten, and the land which contains it, 
though it have no other attraction, will yet be dear 
to them for this. 

When the municipal authorities of Roxbury, 
with an enlightened foresight and good taste pur- 
chased and laid out the cemetery of Forest Hills, 
they commenced a good work, and set an example 
which may well be followed by other municipali- 
ties, and has, indeed, produced its proper effect 
upon some. Although the measure may possibly 
have been a little in advance of public opinion at 
that time, the result has shown that it was " not 
done too soon, nor on too large a scale, nor at 
too great a cost." It has found increasing favor 
with each succeeding year ,• it has awakened, with- 
in the sphere of its influence, a more general re- 
gard for the sanctuary of the grave ; it has called 
into life pure and elevated sentiments that else 
might have slumbered forever j it has in a great 
measure changed the feelings of a community with 
regard to the place of burial, and the tomb which 
was once revisited only to lay a new treasure 
there, has become a hallowed spot, to which the 
mourner may come to indulge his grief or find 
consolation for his sorrow amid the beauties of 
nature. Year by year it will become more sacred, 

B 



14 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

more endeared to tlie hearts of the living as the 
sanctuary which contains an ever increasing com- 
pany of departed friends ; and it will be looked 
upon, by those who have followed their beloved 
ones thither, as a place without which the associ- 
ations of home and of country would not be com- 
plete, though around it cling only sorrowful mem- 
ories. 

Now that we have become accustomed to rural 
cemeteries we are sensible how inappropriate, in- 
decorous and almost unhallowed were the old 
burial grounds as they existed in past years. 
Human feelings, which have found life and expres- 
sion in the experience of the more appropriate 
rural or garden cemeteries, would revolt from a 
return to interments within those unadorned and 
desolate burial places as they formerly existed. 
Happily many of them have been transformed into 
more attractive fields, and trees and shrubs are 
planted, and flowers bloom, where once were only 
weeds. 

For those who reap the benefit of this reform 
in the character of our places of sepulture it is a 
matter for congratulation that it commenced as 
early as it did ; and those men who first cherished 
and carried into effect the idea of establishing a 
rural cemetery in the vicinity of Boston, are enti- 
tled to the gratitude of all who can appreciate the 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

work and its happy results. The founders of Mt. 
Auburn conferred upon the community of which 
they were members, and indeed upon the whole 
country, a benefit far greater than merely afford- 
ing some individuals an opportunity of securing 
appropriate and beautiful burial lots, though this 
was no small one, considered in its true light. 
They commenced a good work ; they sowed a 
good seed, which has produced a hundred fold, 
throughout the land ; they awakened some of the 
finer feelings of humanity, have gratified and cul- 
tivated a higher taste for rural art, and making 
the burial place more sacred and more familiar, 
have afforded consolation and peace to many 
mourners. 



d^stablisljuient anir f rogwss of Jfomt pHk, 



In October, 1846, Hon. John J. Clarke, Mayor 
of Roxbury, laid before the City Council a com- 
munication * in relation to the condition of the 
public burial grounds of the city, and recommend- 
ing that the council consider the expediency of 
purchasing a tract of land for a new place of in- 
terment. This communication did not contemplate 
the establishment of an extensive rural cemetery, 
but the subject of a new burial ground being thus 
opened, the attention of a few gentlemen was di- 
rected to the extent and manner of cemetery 
which it was desirable to establish. The subject 
was referred to a select committee of the city 
council, and subsequently to them was committed 
a petition of Hon, H. A. S. Dearborn and others, 
for the establishment of a rural cemetery , which 
was presented on the first of the following March. 



City Records, vol. 1, page 202. 



18 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

This committee at the close of the municipal year, 
in March; reported that they had not been able to 
secure a desirable tract of land; and the subject 
was referred to the next city council, which was 
to be organized the following month. 

The subject was early brought to the attention 
of the new city council; and a committee ^ of that 
body gave it an earnest consideration. Gen. 
Dearborn was now Mayor of the city; and his 
views unquestionably gave direction to the labors 
of the committee; some of whom, however; were 
already earnest advocates of a rural cemetery on 
a liberal scale. A portion of this committee de- 
voted much time in examining various tracts of 
land within the limits of the city (which then in- 
cluded West Eoxbury) to ascertain their adapta- 
tion for the purposes of a cemetery of the charac- 
ter proposed. They desired to obtain a tract 
which would combine all the requisite natural 
beauties and capabilities; somewhat central in po- 
sition and on terms so favorable that they might 
not be any serious obstacle to the establishment 
of such a cemetery. 

Though several tracts presented some attrac- 

* The Standing Committee on Burial Grounds, consisting 
of Mayor Dearborn, Aldermen Head and Kingsbury, and 
Messrs. Kittredge, Crafts, Weld, Forbush and Jordan of the 
Common Council. 



ESTABLISHMENT AXD PROGRESS. 19 

tions and requisites, and some; indeed, may have 
been deemed more beautiful and appropriate than 
the one finally selected, but could be had only at 
great cost, — none seemed to combine so many 
requisites, of beauty, capabilities and cheapness, 
as the tract known as the Seaverns Farm, belong- 
ing to Mr. Joel Seaverns, together with one or 
two smaller lots adjoining, belonging to other 
parties. This land, lying about three quarters of 
a mile south-east of Jamaica Plain, and about two 
miles and a half from the more densely inhabited 
section of lower Roxbury, was as central as it 
could reasonably be expected so large and cheap 
a tract might be found. A considerable portion 
of it was wild and rugged in appearance, hilly, 
rocky and precipitous, but well covered with 
wood; and this part may have seemed to some 
not a very eligible place for the establishment of 
a cemetery. Another part wore a less rugged 
aspect and was clothed with a grove of pines. 
Still another part was open and cultivated ground. 
The whole together favorably impressed several 
of the committee, and by its diversity of scenery 
and natural adaptation for the work of the land- 
scape gardener, especially pleased the fine taste 
and judgment of Gen. Dearborn. 

A conditional bargain was effected with Mr. 
Seaverns, and the committee agreed upon a report 



20 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

recommending that this tract, together with ad- 
joining land of Dr. John C. Warren, be purchased 
by the city for the purpose of converting it into a 
rural cemetery. As the measure was one of con- 
siderable importance, both in the cost of the land 
and the expense of laying it out, as well as in its 
probable results, it was desirable that it should 
not be adopted in haste, nor until there was some 
expression of public sentiment to sustain the 
views of the committee, and an interest awakened 
in the members of the city council which would 
secure a liberal and efficient action on their part. 
Before the report was submitted, therefore, the 
city government, with a large number of influen- 
tial and public spirited citizens, made a visit to 
the grounds, which were thoroughly explored, and 
the propriety of establishing such a cemetery there 
was freely discussed. The result of this visit 
seemed to be a general opinion in favor of the 
proposed measure, and many citizens expressed a 
desire to take lots in the contemplated cemetery. 
With such encouragement the report of the com- 
mittee, an able and elaborate one, prepared by 
General Dearborn, was submitted in the common 
council, September 6, 1847.* 

The report having been printed and circulated 

* See Appendix, 2. 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 21 

among the inhabitants of Roxbury, the project met 
with very general approbation among that portion 
of the community who feel interested in such 
movements, and would be most likely to avail 
themselves of the opportunity to purchase lots in 
the proposed cemetery. This interest on the part 
of the influential leaders of public improvements 
served to confirm the hesitating in favor of the 
measure, by giving it the promise of success. But 
though a majority of the city council expressed 
themselves in favor of the establishment of a rural 
cemetery, yet, as might be expected in a matter of 
this kind, the measure met with some strenuous 
opposition from the over-cautious, calculating few, 
who are inclined to magnify the cost, rather 
than measure the benefits, of improvement. In 
this case, dollars were put in the scale against 
taste and sentiment, and utilitarian eyes must of 
course see the beam turn heavily and quickly in 
favor of the former. Such men, however, often 
serve to perfect what they cannot prevent, and it 
may have been so in this case. There was con- 
siderable diversity of opinion, even among those 
friendly to the measure, in relation to the manner 
in which it should be established and the details 
of its management. The delay caused by the op- 
position gave an opportunity to reconcile conflict- 
ing opinions in some degree, and to mature a 



22 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

satisfactory plan for the management of the cem- 
etery. 

An order for the purchase of a portion of the 
Seaverns Farm, comprising about fifty-five acres, 
at three hundred and fifty dollars per acre, paya- 
ble in ten years, with interest, was adopted in the 
common council, Sept. 27, 1847, and was sent to 
the Mayor and Aldermen for their concurrence. 
It was in this board that the objections to the 
measure were most strongly urged, and it was de- 
layed here for some time. Indeed there was great 
danger that the project would entirely fail, as 
there was at first a decided majority against the 
order adopted by the common council. At this 
juncture, however, a public meeting of citizens in 
favor of the establishment of a rm-al cemetery was * 
called, and was quite fully attended. Addresses 
were made by Gen. Dearborn and several other 
gentlemen of taste and influence, and the character 
of the meeting was such as to awaken a warm in- 
terest in the proposed work. A number of gen- 
tlemen subscribed for lots, and the probable suc- 
cess of the measure was made so manifest, that 
there was little excuse left for those who had 
urged their doubts on this score as a ground for 
opposition. Those who had opposed a rural cem- 
etery as unnecessary and had declared that the 
city ought to provide only a sufficient extent of 



ESTABLISHMENT AXD PROGRESS. 23 

earth to bury the dead — a mere Potter's Field — 
found themselves overruled by a more refined 
taste. 

It only remained now to arrange some general 
plan for the management of the cemetery satisfac- 
tory to all parties, before the purchase was effect- 
ed. The order for the purchase was therefore 
amended so as to require application to the legis- 
lature for an amendment to the city charter, or a 
special act, authorising the city council to elect a 
Board of Commissioners who should have the sole 
management and control of the cemetery, and pro- 
viding that a portion of the grounds should be set 
apart for public burial, free of charge : that the 
proceeds of sales of lots should be appropriated 
to the liquidation of the debt incurred in the pur- 
chase'^of the land, and to the improvement and 
embellishment of the grounds : and that no moneys 
for such embellishment should be appropriated 
from the city treasury.* These provisions seemed 
satisfactory to all parties, the friends of the meas- 
ure being confident of such success that no assis- 
tance would be required from the city treasury, 
and its opponents feeling secure against any 
extravagance on the part of the city council for 
improving and beautifying the grounds. With 

* See Appendix, 3. 



24 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

these amendments tlie order for tlie purchase of 
the Seaverns land, and the establishment of a ru- 
ral cemetery, was adopted by both boards of the 
city council, November 9th, 1847. The deed of 
the land was given on the 28th of the following 
March, 1848. 

Application was made to the legislature, at its 
ensuing session, for an act which should embrace 
the provisions of the order above named and 
establish the cemetery in such a manner as might 
best insure a successful and stable management. 
An act was accordingly passed March 24, 1848. 
This act ^ provides for the choice of five commis- 
sioners to be elected by the city council and to 
hold their office for five years ; after the first year 
one member being elected annually, in the month 
of March. This board of commissioners has the 
" sole care, superintendence and management " of 
the cemetery, the laying out and embellishment of 
the grounds, the conveyance of burial lots, and the 
establishing of such by-laws, rules and regulations 
as they may deem expedient. The act further 
provides that a portion of the cemetery shall be 
set apart as a public burial place for the use of 
the inhabitants of Roxbury, free of charge ; and 
also that the proceeds of sales of lots and rights 

* See Appendix, 4. 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 25 

of burial shall be appropriated "to the liquidation 
of the debt incurred in the purchase of the land 
and to the improvement and embellishment there- 
of;" and it forbids the appropriation of any 
moneys from the city treasury for such improve- 
ment and embellishment. 

The act was accepted by the city council soon 
after its passage, and on the 30th of March, 1848, 
the following gentlemen were elected commission- 
ers, their respective terms of office being deter- 
mined by the order in which they were chosen, 
according to a provision of the act : Hon. Henry 
A. S. Dearborn, Alvah Kit tr edge, Francis C. Head, 
Henry Codman and George R. Russell, Esquires. 
These gentlemen accepted the office, and having 
organised by the choice of Gen. Dearborn as 
chairman, and Mr. Head as secretary, immediately 
entered upon their duties with much zeal and in- 
terest. 

The work of laying out the grounds was assign- 
ed by common consent, as it would undoubtedly 
have been by the unanimous choice of those inter- 
ested, to Gen. Dearborn, whose efforts did much 
to secure the establishment of the cemetery, and 
whose skill and taste in rural art had developed 
the beauties of Mt. Auburn, and were universally 
acknowledged. He undertook the work with a 
zealous interest, and that delight in nature which 
c 



26 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

made it more of a pleasure than a task. He de- 
voted to it time and toil ; studied the character 
of the ground, explored every part of it, made 
himself familiar with all its beauties and capabili- 
ties, observed each rock and tree and shrub, as 
well as each hill and slope and opening vista, and 
then traced out the avenues and paths so as to re- 
veal those beauties and to prepare a garden where 
the living might well choose a resting place for 
their dead. 

Gen. Dearborn found an able assistant in the 
intelligent and active superintendept, Mr. Daniel 
Brims. Thoroughly educated as a gardener in 
Scotland, of which country he is a native, he was 
well qualified for the situation, and the commis- 
sioners were fortunate in securing his services. 
A practical man and a man of taste, he from the 
first showed an appreciation of the ideas and in- 
tentions of Gen. Dearborn, and an ability to carry 
them into efi'ect. Many of the rural embellish- 
ments are the result of his taste and skill, and the 
thoroughness of the work in the construction of 
avenues and paths, the preparation of the borders 
and the cultivation of trees, shrubs and plants, are 
in a great degree attributable to his thorough 
knowledge of his business, judgment and good 
taste. 

When the land was purchased of Mr. Seaverns, 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 27 

it was intended that the principal entrance to the 
cemetery should be on the southern side, from 
Walk Hill street, through land belonging to Dr. 
John C. Warren, over which there was a right of 
way appurtenant to the estate purchased by the 
city. In order to have an entrance adapted to a 
place of this character, it was necessary to have 
the whole or a part of the land of Dr. Warren, 
and efforts were made to secure it. It was found, 
however, that there were serious obstacles in the 
way of a purchase of this estate, and all that could 
be obtained was a passage-way thirty-three feet 
wide which was granted by the proprietor in lieu 
of the casement already possessed. As this alone 
would have been but poorly adapted for a main 
entrance to the cemetery, an attempt was next 
made to obtain land adjoining the passage-way, be- 
longing to another party. Here, too, it was found 
impossible to purchase, and the commissioners 
then turned their attention to lands on the north- 
ern side of the tract purchased, with a view of 
obtaining, if possible, an entrance from one of the 
streets on that side. They found that this plan 
was feasible, and as there might be added to the 
cemetery several acres of land valuable for such 
a purpose, desirable also. The subject was brought 
before the city council, who, with a desire to per- 
fect the work so well begun, on the 26 th of June, 



28 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

1848, authorised the purchase of about fourteen 
and a half acres of land belonging to John Park- 
inson, Esq., for the sum of $7,949.68.^ With this 
addition, the cemetery contained a little more than 
seventy-one acres, and the cost of the land was 
$27,894.66. 

It may be considered rather a fortunate circum- 
stance that the Warren lot could not be purchased, 
and especially that the land adjoining the passage- 
way could not be obtained at that time. For had 
either of these lots been purchased the main en- 
trance to the cemetery would have been on that 
side, in a less favorable and accessible situation 
than the present, and much less convenient to the 
great majority of the proprietors of lots. It is 
quite probable, however, that even had the princi- 
pal entrance been opened on that side, the land 
on the northern side might at some time have 
been purchased. 

This last purchase did not bring the cemetery 
grounds directly upon any street ; but by the lib- 
erality of the adjoining land holders, the commis- 
sioners were enabled to open a broad avenue 
from Scarboro' street to the north-western part 
of the cemetery, where they established the main 
entrance. 

* See Appendix, 3. 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 29 

After the acquisition of this land the work of 
preparing the grounds proceeded rapidly. The 
whole ground was enclosed by a wooden fence, 
and the principal avenues and paths laid out and 
partially constructed to make ready for the conse- 
cration. An imposing Egyptian gateway was 
erected at the main entrance, and more simple 
ones at the southern and eastern entrances. The 
large gateway is of wood, painted and sanded in 
imitation of the Jersey sandstone, from which more 
durable material, or from granite, it is intended at 
some future time to construct a gateway of the 
same model. The present structure is built in 
a substantial manner for a wooden one, and its 
architectural ornaments are well wrought. 

It was desirable that the preparation of the 
grounds should be sufficiently advanced to dispose 
of lots as early in the season as possible, and in 
the space of two months very much had been ac- 
complished towards transforming the grounds 
from the natural state in which they were when 
purchased, to a condition adapted to the purposes 
for which they were intended. The work was 
commenced on the 25th of April, and it was suffi- 
ciently advanced for the consecration of the cem- 
etery on the 28th of June. Several hundred 
burial lots were laid out, and the choice of lots 
was offered to subscribers at this time. An 



30 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

account of the consecration, with the appropriate 
services on the occasion, will be found in another 
chapter. 

The name of "Forest Hills" was selected by 
the commissioners, from a number which were 
proposed, as the most appropriate and harmoni- 
ous. This name was subsequently in a more for- 
mal manner given, by an ordinance of the city.* 

The first purchase of the S caverns land com- 
prised but a portion of the cultivated part of the 
farm, and gave a comparatively narrow front on 
Canterbury street ; and the land was not of such 
a form as to be laid out with advantage and beau- 
ty. The commissioners feeling the importance of 
obtaining more land in this direction, both on ac- 
count of a prospective want of a greater extent 
of grounds and for the sake of making the form 
of the cemetery more regular and available, as 
well as for various minor and temporary advan- 
tages which would be derived from such an addi- 
tion; made efforts to purchase the remainder of 
the farm of Mr. Seaverns. Having finally ob- 
tained from that gentleman an offer of the land at 
a price which was satisfactory to them, they 
brought the subject before the city council. The 
expediency of this addition to the cemetery was 

* See Appendix, 5. 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 31 

admitted by the city council, and with but one dis- 
senting voice an order for the purchase of the land 
passed both boards, Sept. 27, 1852.* The area 
of the land in this purchase was about thirty-two 
and a half acres, making the whole extent of the 
cemetery grounds one hundred and four acres, one 
quarter and six rods. By this addition the front 
on Canterbury street is much extended, and the 
outline of the cemetery is more regular. It affords 
some very material advantages in laying out the 
grounds, especially by the enlargement of Lake 
Hibiscus, and the extension of avenues about it, 
while it also adds a large extent of land which 
will in time become one of the most beautiful and 
attractive parts of the cemetery. The house and 
buildings on this tract were desirable acquisitions 
to the commissioners and the superintendent in 
carrying on the work. 

The eastern portion of the cemetery was for- 
merly under cultivation, being one of the neat and 
well cultivated farms of "Canterbury," as that 
part of the town was called. It was destitute of 
trees, for the most part, but in other respects was 
well adapted to cemetery purposes. Though there 
would be no necessity for using this part of the 

* See Appendix, 3. 



32 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

grounds for many yearS; it was desirable that 
trees should be planted so as to attain a fair 
growth by the time when it should be required 
for use. This work was early commenced on a 
considerable part of the open grounds, and in the 
course of a few years it will be beautifully shaded. 
Besides the many trees which will for a long time 
be required for planting in this section of the 
grounds, there is a constant want of young trees 
to embellish the finished arid wooded parts of the 
cemetery, to replace such as have necessarily been 
removed, or to fill some open space. In order to 
afford a constant and ready supply of the most 
desirable trees and shrubs, nurseries were estab- 
lished in the open grounds near the pond, where 
a large number of the choicest varieties of orna- 
mental trees have been planted. From seeds 
sown the first year of the existence of the ceme- 
tery upwards of ten thousand trees, oaks, chest- 
nuts, elms, ashes, walnuts and other varieties were 
transplanted in 1850. Since the first year many 
more seeds of these and other varieties of trees 
have been planted, and in sufficient quantity to 
supply many thousands of trees. Many of these 
trees have been removed to the borders, and a 
constant supply is now furnished by these nurse- 
ries for all the wants of the cemetery. In addi- 
tion to the trees raised from the seed, upwards of 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 33 

twenty thousand European trees have been im- 
ported and successfully transplanted. These trees 
embrace most of the hardy and more beautiful 
trees, which will flourish well in our climate ; 
among them are some of the less common varie- 
ties, and some trees of rare beauty ; the purple 
beech is already scattered over the cemetery, and 
when the trees have attained a larger growth will 
afford a striking and pleasing contrast amid the 
lighter foliage of other trees. This supply of 
trees in great variety, the cemetery containing all 
the varieties of trees native in this soil and cli- 
mate, together with many varieties of foreign 
origin, will make the grounds to some extent an 
arboreum, and will give it a more varied and 
beautiful appearance than if it were wooded only 
by the indigenous varieties. 

The avenues and paths* traverse every part of 
the ground available for cemetery purposes, and 
are so laid out that each burial lot will be acces- 
sible directly from some main avenue or path, 
without crossing or passing around any other lot. 
The size of an ordinary burial lot is fifteen feet 
wide and twenty feet deep, making the area three 
hundred square feet. Larger lots than these can 

* See Appendix, 13. 



34 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

be had, however, and in some places they are 
necessarily so laid out. Many extra-sized lots 
have been taken in different parts of the cemetery, 
the price being proportionally larger; some of 
them contain from two thousand to four thousand 
square feet. Smaller lots can also be found in 
various parts of the cemetery, and in the valley, 
north of Lake Hibiscus, on the ground that slopes 
up on the eastern side, there are a large number 
of small lots which are sold at lower prices, for 
the convenience of those who do not desire, or 
cannot afford, a lot of the ordinary size. 

Between the lots are spaces six feet wide, and 
between the avenues or paths and the lots are 
spaces of the same width, which are prepared as 
borders for trees, shrubs and flowers. In the 
angles formed by the junction of the avenues and 
paths, where the space is too narrow, or not 
adapted, for burial lots, the borders are enlarged, 
and embellished with numerous flowering shrubs 
and plants, giving the cemetery the finished beauty 
of the garden. These borders are cultivated un- 
der the direction of the superintendent, at the ex- 
pense of the cemetery, but the proprietors can 
have additional trees or plants about their lots if 
they desire it, at their own expense. 

Each lot, before being graded and embellished, 
or enclosed, is trenched to the depth of six feet, 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 35 

and all the large rocks or roots which might ob- 
struct the digging for the purpose of burial are 
removed. In some parts of the cemetery the 
rocky formation has made this a difficult and ex- 
pensive work. The materials removed, however, 
have been very useful in the construction of the 
avenues and paths. This thorough mode of pre- 
paring the lotS; as well as the manner of construct- 
ing the paths, makes this cemetery superior in 
many repects to most others. Nearly all the 
avenues and paths are excavated and filled in with 
stone and gravel, which render them hard, dry 
and durable.* The trenching of the lots and 
borders gives a deeper soil and conduces to the 
more rapid and luxuriant growth of the trees 
which are planted about them. As each lot is 
graded, granite posts are set to mark the bounda- 
ries and to support the enclosing fences whenever 
they may be erected. 

On the southern border of the cemetery is a 
large lot in which one or more graves can be pur- 

* In order to have an abundant supply of material beyond 
what is afforded by the cemetery itself, a piece of land on 
Bourne street, south of the cemetery, comprising about two 
acres, was purchased by the city at the desire of the com- 
missioners, in 1855, for the sum of $600. This land affords 
an ample supply of gravel and sand for the various wants of 
the cemetery. 



36 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

chased by such persons as do not require or de- 
sire a lot of the usual size. This lot is bounded 
on two sides by the boundary of the cemetery, 
and is enclosed with an arbor vitae hedge on its 
other two sides. It is laid out in regular paths, 
with borders for the cultivation of trees and 
plants, many of which have been planted here. 
This lot is sufficiently large to contain seven or 
eight hundred graves, with ample space for the 
flower borders and trees. Many graves have been 
already sold in this place, and possessing as it does 
many of the beauties and embellishments of the 
private lots, it meets a want in the community by 
enabling persons of limited means to obtain a sa- 
cred and beautiful spot in which to bury their dead. 
This place is called the "Field op Machpelah," 
after the name of the field which was granted to 
Abraham for a burial-place for Sarah, his wife.* 
As they are required, similar lots will be laid out 
in other parts of the cemetery. It is proposed to 
have one appropriated exclusively to the burial of 
children. Such a lot would be an interesting spot, 
full of touching associations. 

Comparatively few tombs have as yet been con- 
structed at Forest Hills, most of the proprietors 
preferring the more simple and appropriate mode 



* Genesis, chap. 23. 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 37 

of burial in graves. The eye does not here meet 
at every turn the entrances to tombs, opening 
upon the paths or avenues, which, however costly 
some of them may be, too often disfigure our 
rural cemeteries. The commissioners have rather 
discouraged the construction of tombs, and one 
of the restrictions contained in the deeds of burial 
lots is, that "no tomb shall be constructed or al- 
lowed within the bounds of the cemetery, unless 
by special permission of the said Board of Com- 
missioners, and in such places and in such manner 
as the Commissioners shall direct." Permission 
for tombs is not refused when the lot is adapted 
to the purpose, but the commissioners at an early 
day recommended that they should be constructed 
only in level situations ; and they prescribed also 
that they should be built so as to have no opening 
on any avenue or path, but that the door should 
be on the top and horizontal, and that the top of 
the tomb should be covered with earth to the 
depth of at least two feet. This mode of con- 
struction leaves the lot in appearance similar to 
those without tombs, in a condition to be orna- 
mented with shrubs and flowers, or to receive a 
monument more tasteful and interesting than the 
fronts of those tombs which have been objected 
to. All the tombs at Forest Hills have been con- 
structed in the manner prescribed, with one ex- 

D 



38 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

ception, and that was built the first year and 
before the commissioners had fully established 
their regulations. That tomb still remains naked 
and unadorned, and by its very repulsiveness has 
at least shown the good taste which governed the 
commissioners in prescribing the other mode of 
construction. In many lots, instead of tombs, 
catacombs y or brick graves covered with stone 
slabs, have been constructed when the lots were 
trenched and graded. These are altogether be- 
low the surface, and by many are considered to 
possess the advantages, without the objectionable 
features, of the tomb. 

The original price of a lot, of three hundred 
square feet, without being in any way prepared, 
was fifty dollars j but upon payment previous to 
a certain date a reduction of ten per cent, was 
made to the early subscribers for lots. This 
price, for lots in their natural condition, was sub- 
sequently raised to sixty dollars, and again to 
seventy-five dollars, at which price it now remains. 
In some parts of the cemetery it was absolutely 
necessary to trench the lots in order to prepare 
them for use, and in all cases it was deemed advis- 
able, so that this was adopted as the regular mode 
of preparing lots. The expense of this work, of 
course, varied in the different parts of the ground. 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 39 

Some lots were unexpectedly expensive on ac- 
count of rock being found below the surface, and 
others cost but little, even with less promising 
exterior ; so that no accurate estimate of the ex- 
pense could be made from the appearance of a 
lot. The first year or two the cost of preparing 
each lot was charged to the proprietor thereof, 
or he could cause it to be done at his own ex- 
pense, under the direction of the superintendent. 
But the expense was so unequal as to occasion 
some dissatisfaction, and the commissioners de- 
termined upon the better plan of ascertaining the 
average cost of preparing the ordinary lots, and 
engaging to prepare all at that price, assuming 
the risk of any extra expense. This method was 
better for the improvement of the grounds and for 
individual proprietors ; for it opened all parts of 
the cemetery for the choice of lots — some of 
which mio'ht have been neorlected for fear of 
cost, — and it gave the proprietor an opportunity 
of having his lot prepared at a reasonable cost, 
and without risk of excessive expense. 

This general plan has been followed ever since 
it was first adopted, though circumstances have 
modified it to some extent. The expense of pre- 
paring lots in a certain locality or range is equal- 
ized by an average on those lots. For the most 
part the lots are trenched and graded in ranges, 



40 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

whether the whole of them are previously selected 
or not. The work can therefore be done more 
reasonably than if a single lot were prepared at 
one time, and there is also more uniformity in the 
work, and the plans for improving the grounds can 
be more effectually carried out. The cost of lots 
of three hundred square feet, trenched, graded 
and furnished with stone posts, is now from one 
hundred and fifty to two hundred dollars, accord- 
ing to the situation. It is not probable that the 
price of lots will vary materially from those at 
present asked, for some years at least, and for 
a lot so thoroughly prepared the price is quite 
as favorable as in most other cemeteries of the 
same class, and of equal beauty.* 

The success of the cemetery in rapid improve- 
ment and the sale of lots has greatly exceeded, 
not only the expectations of those who doubted 
the expediency of the project, but even of its most 
sanguine friends. A more rapid taking up of the 

* The price of a lot at Mt. Auburn, in its natural state, 
was originally $60, from which price it rose in the course of 
a few years to double that sum. The price is now $150, 
without any improvements whatever. It may not be necessary 
to trench the lots at Mt. Auburn, but were that done and the 
lot finished as at Forest Hills, the cost would greatly exceed 
the price of a lot in the latter. 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 41 

lots was hardly to be desired, as the improvements 
and embellishments might have been less thorough 
and beautiful. The number of lots sold during 
the seven years from the consecration of the 
grounds, ending June 28, 1855, was nine hundred 
and twenty-five. This considerably exceeds the 
number taken at Mt. Auburn during the same 
length of time. Up to December 8, 1838, a little 
more than seven years from the consecration of 
Mt. Auburn, the number of lots disposed of was 
six hundred and thirty-four. Since that time, 
much through the influence of that beautiful cem- 
etery, public sentiment has been more strongly in 
favor of rural cemeteries, and burial lots have 
been more sought after. "^ Forest Hills has reaped 
the benefit, to some extent, of this influence of Mt. 
Auburn. But its success is not to be altogether 
attributed to this, for since its establishment it 
has, by its own peculiar beauties, cultivated a bet- 
ter taste, and given new life to those sentiments 
which lead to the selection of such sacred and 
pleasant spots for the burial of the dead. Besides 

* In Greenwood Cemetery, during the first four or five 
years, comparatively few lots were sold. After that time 
public sentiment in the great metropolis turned more favora- 
bly towards it, and lots were much more rapidly taken up. 
Other cemeteries have since been established in the vicinity 
of New York to answer the demands for rural burial lots. 



42 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

Mt. Auburn, with the prestige of being the first 
large rural cemetery in the country, with the 
many attractions which time and honored names 
give to it, and with its extensive and beautiful 
grounds still offering burial lots, two other ceme- 
teries have been established in the vicinity of 
Boston, since the opening of Forest Hills; but 
none of them has found more favor than the lat- 
ter, or a greater demand for lots. As it becomes 
more attractive, year by year, there is reason to 
believe that it will increase in favor with those 
who would select burial lots, and will rival in ex- 
tent and beauty those older and more famous 
grounds which are considered, not altogether cor- 
rectly, the type of all rural cemeteries. 

As the number of burial lots increased, applica- 
tions were made to the commissioners by some of 
the proprietors for some arrangement by which 
their lots might be kept in perpetual repair and 
preservation. Persons without families to survive 
them, or those who had friends interred in their 
lots and were about to leave the country for a 
long time, and possibly never to return, have 
naturally desired to make some provision by 
which the resting place of their friends and rela- 
tives might continue to be cared for, embellished 
and preserved, when they could do it no more 
themselves. Sentiments like these must often be 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 43 

experienced by those interested in garden ceme- 
teries like Forest Hills, and due provision has 
been made to meet their demands. With the 
cooperation of the city council an additional act* 
was obtained from the legislature, giving the com- 
missioners, jointly vrith the city treasurer, the 
necessary authority to receive bequests or dona- 
tions in trust for the purpose of the annual repair, 
embellishment or preservation of any lot, and to 
give an obligation for the performance of said 
trust. This act also gives them authority to re- 
ceive any bequest, grant or donation for the more 
general improvement or embellishment of the 
cemetery, and for the erection or preservation of 
any monument or other structure. It is to be 
hoped that private liberality will avail itself of 
these provisions to extend to Forest Hills such 
aid as has been bestowed upon other similar 
establishments. By such means some desirable 
improvements may be made, and structures erect- 
ed at a comparatively early day, which otherwise 
might be delayed for a long time, in order that a 
fund might accumulate for such purposes. A 
chapel in which to perform the burial service, or 
a gateway of stone, in the place of the present 
wooden structure, would be fitting objects for the 
generous gifts of the wealthy. 

* See Appendix, 4. 



44 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

The first interment at Forest Hills took place 
July 30, 1848."^ Previous to that the remains of 
Gen. Dearborn's family and others had been re- 
moved from other grounds to this. Since the con- 
secration of the grounds down to June 28, 1855, 
there have been, in private lots and in the "Field 
of Machpelah," nineteen hundred and seventeen 
burials there, including some remains removed 
from other cemeteries. In some instances the 
remains of whole families for several generations 
were gathered from their old resting place and 
transferred to these more beautiful grounds ; and 
such cases are included in the above number, as 
far as it was possible to give the names. During 
the year previous to the last report of the com- 
missioners,t there were three hundred and sixty- 
five interments, averaging one a day. 

During the winter season, when it is difficult to 
open graves or tombs, bodies are deposited in the 
receiving tombs until an opportunity occurs for 
removing them to private lots. Persons who 
have not selected lots sometimes have the re- 
mains of friends deposited in the receiving tomb 
until they can select, and have prepared, a perma- 
nent resting place. So many bodies are sometimes 
collected here, and some, indeed, .never being re- 



* Samuel Hamblin. f February, 1855. 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 45 

moved, it will soon be found necessary to construct 
another receiving tomb, and it is proposed to build 
one of very large dimensions in Chapel Hill. 

The entire area of Forest Hills is one hundred 
and four acres one quarter and six rods ; and the 
cost, at the date of the several purchases, was 
$36,894.67.* To this may be added the two 
acres of land on Bourne street, purchased for the 
gravel and sand, which cost about $600.t 

The number of lots disposed of, as before 
stated, down to June 28, 1855, was 9254 

The receipts from sale of lots, and for pre- 
paring them for use, including also some small 
amounts for wood and hay disposed of, amounted, 
at the same date, to $127,916.01. The expendi- 
tures, during the same period, for the general im- 
provements and embellishments of the cemetery, 
preparing lots, and for material for these pur- 
poses, including also the interest on the purchase- 
money unpaid, amounted to $116,038. 92.§ There 
has also been paid from the receipts the sum of 
$10,894.67 of the principal for the purchase of 
the land. 

The amount of expenditures for general im- 

* See Appendix, 9. f See note on page 35. 

I August 25, 950. ^ See Appendix, 10. 



46 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

provements and in preparing lots, although a lib- 
eral sum and judiciously expended, is by no means 
all that has been laid out in the embellishment 
of the grounds. More than three hundred lots 
have been enclosed with iron fences, and others 
with hedges, at the expense of the proprietors. 
Nearly two hundred monuments, exclusive of 
monumental scrolls and slabs designed to mark 
the resting place of the beloved dead, have been 
erected ; some of them elaborate and costly, while 
others are simple and comparatively inexpensive. 
The aggregate cost of these embellishments on 
private lots is probably not less than seventy-five 
thousand dollars ; and may, with other expenses 
by individuals, much exceed that sum.^ 

The success which has attended the work of 
laying out Forest Hills, viewed as a piece of rural 
art, has greatly disappointed some persons who 
anticipated that the grounds were not adapted to 
the purposes of a cemetery, and were not capable 
of being rendered beautiful and attractive. And 
it has disappointed those, too, who expressed 
fears lest the cemetery should not be properly 
managed, and would exhibit negligence, or the 

* Probably the expense by proprietors will continue to be 
nearly two-thirds as much as the sum expended by the com- 
missioners. 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 47 

appearance of half-done work — too much assum- 
ed, and too little accomplished. But the work 
was intrusted to good hands. Taste and a true 
appreciation of the beautiful governed the laying 
out of the grounds, and taste and neatness have 
ever prevailed in the completion and care of them. 
No cemetery in the country excels Forest Hills 
in this respect. Those portions of the grounds 
where most of the lots have been selected, wear, 
indeed, the aspect of a garden for the dead. 

To Mr. Brims, the superintendent, is due the 
credit of the excellent appearance of the ceme- 
tery. From the first, the practical part of the 
work of laying out and embellishing the groimds 
devolved on him, and since the death of General 
Dearborn he has been the designer as well as 
finisher of the work. At all times very many of 
the attractive features of the place have been 
suggested and carried out by him j the rustic or- 
naments, the cultivation of flowers, the judicious 
and tasteful planting of the trees have for the 
most part been his work. Thoroughly familiar 
with his varied duties, he is indefatigable in his 
attention to them, and his quick observation suffers 
nothing to be neglected, if the means of attending 
to it are at his command. Besides his qualifica- 
tions as manager of the work, his unassuming 
modesty and courtesy commend him to those who 



48 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

are seeking lots, or who desire information rela- 
tive to the cemetery, as well as to the pro- 
prietors, who find him ever ready to meet their 
reasonable wishes. As has before been remarked, 
the commissioners were fortunate in securing the 
services of a man who combines so many quali- 
fications that make him peculiarly fit for his 
position. 

The work of carying out the plan on which the 
original grounds were laid out, and of extending 
it over the tract more recently purchased, is yet 
far from being completed. Much has been accom- 
plished in the lapse of seven years, and the work 
is continued with the same zeal and taste which 
have marked it from the beginning, and with even 
more thoroughness. Each year shows great pro- 
gress in various parts of the cemetery, which con- 
tributes to the realization of the idea of him who 
conceived the plan and commenced the work. 
And as the means permit the improvements will 
continue. New avenues and paths are to be con- 
structed, new lakes to be excavated, new beauties 
to be developed, new rural embellishments to be 
distributed. A chapel for the funeral service is 
to be erected, and a gateway of stone j and, some 
time, more durable fences to enclose the grounds. 
This work must go on gradually, and in propor- 



ESTABLISHMENT AND PROGRESS. 49 

tion to the receipts from the sale of lots ; for the 
income is derived only from this source, unless 
some of those interested in the cemetery may aid 
it by donation or bequest — a good fortune which 
it is hoped may not be denied it. When, how- 
ever, the land is paid for, it will be possible to 
commence a fund which shall, in time, secure the 
erection of all the desirable structures, in an 
appropriate style and from enduring materials, 
while none of the more ordinary and minor im- 
provements are neglected. And it is believed 
that when all these improvements are made and 
the cemetery is completed, so far as to carry out 
the general plan, there will remain a fund which 
will keep the grounds perpetually in repair and 
preservation, a beautiful and sacred spot for all 
time to come. 



Commisswntrs cf Jfowst JHIs. 



It was a wise provision in the establishment of 
Forest Hills Cemetery, that its management should 
be placed under the control of a Board of Com- 
missioners, elected in such a manner and for such 
a term, that the cemetery should not be liable to 
sujQfer by the constant fluctuations in political or 
municipal affairs, or the differences of individual 
opinion. This provision has given a stability to 
the management, which has commanded the confi- 
dence of the public, promoted its success and 
steadily advanced its improvements. The change 
of men in the city council, which may occur so 
frequently, would necessarily sometimes change 
the plan of improvements and the entire policy of 
the management, had it been left, like the ordina- 
ry affairs of the municipality, with the city govern- 
ment. And this would be the case, even though 
all should feel an interest in the cemetery and its 



COMMISSIONERS OF FOREST HILLS. 51 

success, a contingency not likely always to occur. 
But by choosing the commissioners from the citi- 
zens at large, men of taste and public spirit, who 
are known to be interested in the work, are likely 
to be selected. 

By the act of the legislature, respecting the 
cemetery, it is provided, that the control and 
management shall be vested in a board of five 
commissioners, one of whom shall be elected 
annually, in the month of March, by the city 
council of Roxbury, and shall hold the office for 
the term of five years. The term of the members 
first elected was regulated by the order in which 
they were chosen. The term for which the com- 
missioners are elected, and the election of only 
one member each year, secure a comparatively 
permanent policy in their management of the 
cemetery, and exempts it from those evils which 
would result from frequent and sudden changes. 
The office is an honorary one, no compensation 
being given for the service. 

The board of commissioners was first elected 
on the thirtieth of March, 1848, and was composed 
of the following named gentlemen, who were 
elected for terms of five years to one year, in the 
order of their names : Hon. H. A. S. Dearborn, 
Alvah Kittredge, Francis C. Head, Henry Cod- 
man, and George R. Russell, Esquires. Of this 



52 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

board Gen. Dearborn was chosen cliairmanj and 
Mr. Head, secretary ; and the latter has continued 
in his office to the present time. With the ex- 
ception of Gen. Dearborn, who died during his 
first term, each of these gentlemen have been re- 
elected at the expiration of their terms. 

Gen. Dearborn, whose services and devotion to 
the improvement of the cemetery are acknowl- 
edged in another part of this volume, was emi- 
nently the man to be the conductor in this work. 
From the first suggestion of the idea, he was 
indefatigable in his efforts to secure an appropri- 
ate place, and to lay it out and ornament it in a 
manner gratifying to the taste and soothing to 
the feelings. He did not live to see the work 
completed, but in the few years of his commis- 
sionership the general plan of improvements was 
so far perfected and carried out, that he could see 
something of the result of his labors, and know 
that they were appreciated by all who felt an in- 
terest in the sacred spot. Gen. Dearborn died in 
July, 1851, in the fourth year of his commission- 
ership, and William J. Reynolds, Esq., who was 
instrumental in securing the establishment of the 
cemetery, was elected for the remainder of the 
term, and was subsequently, in 1853, re-elected 
for a new term of five years. Upon the death of 
Gen. Dearborn, Mr. Kittredge was chosen chair- 



COMMISSIONERS OF FOREST HILLS. 53 

man of the board, and has continued in that office 
to the present time. 

Another of the original members of the board, 
Henry Codman, Esq., has been removed by death. 
Chosen first for a term of two years, he was re- 
elected in 1850. A gentleman of taste and a 
judicious counsellor, his services in the early days 
of the cemetery were of great value, and his lib- 
erality in affording means to adorn the grounds 
was justly esteemed by his associates, and con- 
tributed much to the gratification of those ac- 
customed to visit the place. As long as his 
failing health permitted him to do so, he was 
attentive to the duties of his office, and assisted 
by his counsels at the consultations of the com- 
missioners. He died in May, 1853. Jonathan 
French, Esq., was elected to fill the vacancy for 
the unexpired term, and in 1855 he was re-elected 
for a new term. 

George R. Russell, Esq., elected first for one 
year, was re-elected in 1849 for a full term. 
During this term Roxbury was divided, and "West 
Roxbury, the place of his residence, was set off as 
a town. This event induced him, at the expira- 
tion of his term, to decline a re-election, a result 
much regretted by those who understood the 
value of his services and his interest in behalf of 



' 54 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

the cemetery. Hon. Linus B. CominS; then Mayor 
of the city, was elected as Mr. Russell's successor. 
In the course of a little more than seven yearS; 
which have elapsed since the election of the first 
commissioners, there have been three changes, 
two of which were occasioned by death. This 
permanency in the board, as well as the character 
of the gentlemen composing it, has done not a 
little to facilitate the progress of the work and to 
secure for the cemetery the confidence of the 
public. The present commissioners are Messrs. 
Kittredge, Head, French, Reynolds, and Comins. 




(( )K fjECKATlON HILL. 



CflHseaa&n of Jforest Pills. 



The work of preparing the grounds for this 
sacred purpose having been sufficiently advanced, 
they were consecrated to the repose of the dead 
on the 28th of June, 1848. 

The day was a beautiful one ; nature had just 
attained to the fulness of her summer beauty, and 
refreshing showers on the day previous rendered 
the whole country more attractive and delightful, 
A large number of people from Roxbury and its 
vicinity were present, attracted by the interest of 
the occasion, and desirous of seeing the grounds 
which were to be set apart for a garden cemetery. 

The place selected for the performance of the 
services was in the northerly part of the cemetery, 
at the base and on the side of a hill, which has 
received the name of Consecration Hill. On the 
southerly slope of this hill seats were arranged, 
rising one above another, sufficient to accommo- 



56 FOBEST HILLS CEMETERY. 

date two or three thousand persons, while at its 
foot; against a rugged and picturesque rock, was 
erected a platform for those officiating on the 
occasion, over which was thrown an arch of ever- 
green with an appropriate motto, and about which 
were other rural devices and decorations. The 
whole place was overshadowed by forest trees, 
and was a most appropriate temple for the ser- 
vices which were to dedicate these hills and val- 
leys and groves forever to the rest of the dead. 

A procession,"^ consisting of the city govern- 
ment of Koxbury and others, was formed in 
another part of the grounds, since named Foun- 
tain Hill, and proceeded to the place set apart 
for the services, where a large audience had 
already assembled. The dedicatory services took 
place in the following order, the anthems and 
hymns being sung by a select choir, accompanied 
by the band : 

1. Anthem. 

Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only 
doeth wondrous things. 

And blessed be His glorious name for ever : and let the 
whole earth be filled with His glory ; Amen, and Amen. 

2. Introductory Prayer, by Rev. Augustus C. 

Thompson. 

* See Appendix, 7. 



CONSECRATION. 57 

3. Hyjin, written for the occasion by Rev. C. 

H. Fay. 

1 We come not now the spell to break, 

That reigns within this green retreat ; 
We come not here the hum to wake, 
Of crowded mart and thronging street. 

2 We choose this sacred forest gloom, 

Around us now so calmly spread, 
To rear the column and the tomb, 
And build our city of the dead. 

3 And 0, how meet for its repose, 

This soothing shade and silence deep ! 
They '11 woo us, at life's evening close, 
To death's untroubled, dreamless sleep. 

4 Thou, who did'st man from dust create, 

A few brief seasons to endure, 
0, help us now to consecrate 
This place to solemn sepulture. 

5 Here, side by side, the high and low. 

And rich and poor shall equal lie ; 
While o'er them Love's warm tears shall flow, 
And Friendship heave her poignant sigh. 

6 Here, then, let Hope's bright beacon burn. 

And Faith say, pointing from the sod, 
" While dust doth unto dust return. 
The spirit doth ascend to God." 

4. Selections from the Scriptures, by Rev. 

Jphn Wayland; D. D. 



58 POEEST HILLS CEMETERY. 

5. Address, by Rev. George Putnam, D. D. 

6. Hymn, written by Rev. C. H. Fay. 

1 When rose the Saviour from the tomb, 
He robbed it of its deepest gloom, 
Sealed hopeless Grief's complaining lips, 
And death became but life's eclipse. 

2 Let Hope then beam around the dead, 
And Faith her holy influence shed ; 
Where nature doth her charms disclose. 
There give their cherished dust repose. 

3 Calm woodland shade ! we here would lay 
The ashes of our loved away ; 

And come at length ourselves to sleep. 
Where thou wilt peaceful vigil keep. 

4 And when around our graves shall bend, 
In bitter grief, the faithful friend, 

0, let thy peace sink on the soul, 
And soothe it to thy sweet control. 

7. Concluding Prayer, by Rev. E. F. Slafter. 

8. Hymn, — "I would not live alway." 

9. Benediction. 

The services were solemn and appropriate, and 
were listened to with serious attention by the 
large audience. The eloquent and impressive 
Address of Dr. Putnam was eminently fitting the 



CONSECRATION. 59 

time, and place and purpose ; and as a part of the 
history of Forest Hills, it is inserted in these 
pages at length. 



ADDEE SS. 

The report of a committee of the city council, 
presented in September last, and since widely 
distributed, sets forth fully the advantages and 
the necessity of a Rural Cemetery, to be estab- 
lished within the limits of this city. 

With brief delay, justified by the important 
financial questions connected with the subject, the 
municipal authorities have made liberal provision 
for the object. Their design has been carried 
out thus far with energy and good judgment by 
those intrusted with the conduct of it, and the 
result is before and around us, or rather that 
effective beginning which guarantees the progres- 
sive accomplishment of the object desired. 

The satisfaction which the people of Roxbury 
will feel in the measure, now so far achieved, may 
well be shared, I think, by a portion of the in- 
habitants of the adjoining metropolis, who cannot 
expect much longer to find suitable and sufficient 
space for burial within a shorter distance. What 
has been done has not been done too soon, nor 



60 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

on too large a scale, nor at too great a cost. 
The future will justify it, nay, it is already justi- 
fied to the feelings and to the judgment of those 
who take an interest in it. 

The spot is well chosen. It lies apart from 
the great thoroughfares of the world, and yet 
near to the dwellings of those multitudes who are 
one day to occupy its quiet precincts. Nature 
has done all for it that we could desire, and con- 
summate science and taste have been displayed, 
in preparing it for its uses — no, not displayed; — 
true science and taste never display themselves 
in such a scene as this. Their most perfect art 
consists in hiding themselves and letting nature 
reveal herself — that all may be of God, and noth- 
ing of man. Whenever man's work comes to look 
most conspicuous here, it will argue either some 
failure in the designing artist, or else some defect 
in our mental vision. " Temptation here is none 
to exceed the truth." 

Of the many rural cemeteries that have been 
opened within the last twenty years, in the vicin- 
ity of our principal cities and large towns, each 
has its own peculiar felicities of position and 
scenery. Each has some one charm that dis- 
tinguishes it from the others. Comparison is 
rendered as difficult as it is ungracious. Absolute 
superiority cannot be claimed for any one of them. 



CONSECRATION. 61 

It is not to be claimed for this, which to-day is 
added to the number of sacred enclosures. 

Nature never repeats herself in landscape. She 
does not use a tithe of her infinite resources to 
adorn any one spot. A few touches of her plastic 
moulding and divine pencilling suffice to make a 
scene as lovely as the human heart can appreciate; 
with but a small draft upon her endless means. 
She always reserves herself, never exhausts her- 
self, never competes with herself, never outdoes 
herself ; and she is nowhere put to shame except 
through man's misunderstanding her design, or 
perverting it by unsuitable use or vicious art. 

Certainly the God of nature has lavishly be- 
stowed here the beauty in which he hath delight. 
We see not how more or better could well have 
been crowded within these limits. Whoso asks 
for more, or different, may well suspect the sensi- 
bility of his own eye and heart, and might trav- 
erse the whole green earth unmoved, unsatisfied. 

The way of access to these grounds lies along 
the green aisles of nature, free from the dust of 
travel and of trafic. The landscape is picturesque. 
There, in the southeast, the perpetual hills undu- 
late along the horizon. From yonder cliff may 
be seen the towers of cities and the spires of 
country villages. Through the loop-holes of the 
tree-tops gleams an arm of the sea ; and e^ll 



62 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

around and afar are the fields of rural industry 
and the cattle upon a thousand hills. 

And here, within the enclosure, the heaving 
surface is pleasantly diversified, 

" And mantled o'er with aboriginal turf 
And everlasting flowers." 

Wooded heights and shaded valleys alternate 
from side to side. There are the grassy slopes ; 
and here, reposing at our feet, the little lake of 
livino; vrater reflectino- the serene heavens. The 
oak, the vralnut and the birch, throw their grate- 
ful shadows over the paths that wind through the 
interior ; and the southern border is skirted by a 
solemn grove of evergreens, 

" Where angels, as the high pines wave, 
Their half heard misereres sing." 

These jagged piles of uptossed rocks record a 
fearful history of old convulsions and a wild war 
of the elements; and the mosses on their sides 
and the gnarled trees in their crevices are the 
emblems of present stability and peace. The 
chirp of the squirrel, and the song of the more 
timid species of birds, such as shun the haunts of 
men, testify of the deep retirement of the place. 
The fountain which breaks cold and sweet at the 
foot of yonder precipice, tells us by its beautiful 



CONSECRATION. 63 

inscription, in the words spoken at Sj'char of old, 
of that water, which whosoever drinketh, " it shall 
be in him a well of water springing up into ever- 
lastino- life." 

Thus felicitously has the Creator's hand, sec- 
onded reverently by an unobtrusive human art, 
prepared these grounds : 

" Even as if the spot 

Had been from eldest time by wish of ours 
So placed, to be shut out from all the world ! 
So lonesome, and so perfectly secure ; 
Not melancholy — no, for it is green 
And bright and fertile : — Peace is here, 
Or nowhere : It could not be more quiet. 
Retreat within retreat — a sheltering place 
Within how deep a shelter ! " 

It is fit that such a spot be taken for such a 
purpose. The practice of burying the dead in the 
heart of cities, and in the midst of dense popula- 
tions, is one of the barbarisms of modern civiliza- 
tion, and a decent regard both for the dead and 
the living requires that it should be discontinued. 
It is out of keeping with all our affectionate me 
mories of the departed, and with our ideas of the 
sacred repose due to their remains, that their 
tomb-doors should echo the worldly talk and an- 
gry disputes and light laugh and jest of the 
thronged street and market-place. A still greater 



64 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

outrage it is upon our best feelings, that the 
bodies of our beloved and revered ones, hallowed 
temples of their dear spirits, should not be per- 
mitted to pass back into their native dust, without 
being the subjects of protests and murmurs, and 
municipal restrictions and sanitary regulations. 

And the practice is not much better, except in 
so far as usage and old ecclesiastical associations 
have sanctified it to Christian feeling, of deposit- 
ins: the dead in cells and vaults beneath churches. 
It is bringing death into proximity with life in an 
objectionable manner, while at the same time it 
forbids the sort of nearness that satisfies the heart 
of the bereaved and appeals to the moral senti- 
ments of the stranger. None can go there to 
meditate, none can approach the grave with any 
offering of affection. The way to its dark cham- 
bers can only be trod by those who go with a new 
grief to lay another treasure in its repulsive and 
gloomy receptacle. Such methods of burial, we 
cannot but think, will soon be superseded, and a 
return to more ancient and appropriate modes be 
universally accomplished. 

It is very true, that it matters not to the de- 
parted wliat is done with their outward tabernacle 
when the spirit is flown. We cannot harm them, 
nor help them, by the manner in which we dispose 
of their perishing remains. The rites of burial 



CONSECRATION. 65 

concern the living more than the dead. Not for 
their benefit, but for our own hearts' sakes it is 
that we gather in funeral companies around their 
coffined bodies, and call on God in pra3'er, and 
reverently lift the pall, and bear them forth in 
solemn procession, and lay them gently down to 
their rest. Not for their benefit; yet so long as 
we are in the flesh ourselves, our love, our sorrow, 
our respect, our fond recollections cannot be sep- 
arated from the image of their material form. It 
is sacred dust forever to the souls that loved them. 
Wherever it is laid, our hearts have a property 
in it that can never be alienated while memory 
and affeclion endure. There is a hallowed tie 
that binds us to the spot with a holy home feel- 
ing, wander where we may. The soul of the very 
savage clings to the land where his fathers' bones 
are laid, and parts from it in anguish, and yearns 
for it as his only home. And no pitch of civiliza- 
tion, no influence of philosophy or religion, breaks 
or ought to break that bond of sacred association, 
woven by love and grief, between the yet beating 
heart and that heart and hand and countenance 
which death has stilled and changed. 

It is sacred dust. We would have it shielded 
from rude intrusion and unseemly neglect. It 
claims nothing — lying there silent and motionless 
in its coffin — it claims nothing, needs nothing, but 



QQ FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

all the more do our own souls claim for it that it 
be treated with tenderness and honor, and rever- 
ent care, — as all that we can do now, or seem to 
do, — a very little, yet all, — and something which 
we feel it is a sad privilege to do, and a shame 
and a wrong to omit. 

To meet this want, to satisfy this craving, to 
furnish increased and convenient opportunity to 
the living to treat their dead as the heart prompts 
and demands, these grounds have been provided 
and prepared. 

And now we are gathered together to devote 
this enclosure to its sacred uses. Henceforth, 
the place is to be the City of the Dead. Hence- 
forth, the living shall have no rightful office or 
duty here, but to pay honor to the dead — to pre- 
pare and adorn their silent chambers, to watch 
over and protect their peaceful slumbers, to hold 
communion with their memories, and with serious 
mind and tender heart to meditate as beneath the 
shadows of the portal of the unseen world. 

It belongs to the dead. We yield it up this 
day to them, as they shall come up one after an- 
other from among the living to claim a resting 
place within its sanctuary. It shall, henceforth, 
be no scene of profit, or light amusement, or any 
worldly passion or purpose. Let ambition enter 
here only to be chastened and elevated ; and love 



CONSECRATION. G7 

only to be refined and sanctified; and worldliness 
only to be rebuked and softened; and iinkindness 
only to be cast out, and give place to holy cliarity ; 
and vice, but to be awed to repentance in the 
presence of the dread and friendly monitor ; and 
virtue, but to strengthen its vows and gird up its 
loins anew; and sorrow, but to be soothed to re- 
signation, and to turn its flowing eye to heaven 
in religious hope and peace. 

Let every mark, which the hand of art shall 
leave within these shades, be a memorial in keep- 
ing with the purpose which we this day recognize. 
We charge it npon ourselves and upon those who 
shall succeed us, to respect the vows of this con- 
secration hour, and guard the spot from all 
profane intrusion. And our children's children, 
musing along these solemn walks over their 
fathers' ashes, and resting in the cool recesses of 
these monumental cliffs, shall respond to the feel- 
ing of the Christian poet, speaking of his mountain 
church-yard : 

" And in the centre of a world whose soil 
Is rank with all unkindness, compassed round 
With such mem )rials, I have sometimes felt 
It was no momentary happiness 
To have one Enclosure where the voice that speaks 
In envy or detraction is not heard ; 
Which malice may not enter ; where the traces 



68 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

Of evil inclinations are unknown ; 
Where love and pity tenderly unite 
With resignation ; and no jarring tone 
Intrudes, the peaceful concert to disturb." 

The lapse of years will produce great changes 
in the aspect of this scene. To-day the iniinform- 
ed visitor might take it for a secular park and 
pleasure ground, — but the dead will be coming 
now, in rapid succession, to take their places 
here. It will be all dotted over with graves. 
Then it will have put on its appropriate look. 
Graves, graves — beneath every tree, at every 
bend of the paths, and up the slopes of the hills, 
and hewn out, it may be, as of old, in the face of 
the living rock — every where graves. They will 
declare the lesson and the sentiment of the place. 
Headstones and monuments are not essential. 
Without these, the eye of love will know where 
to find its own, and the car will catch the voices 
that whisper from the dust. They will not be 
forgotten, nor without influence here, whose rest- 
ing-place is marked by no sepulchral stone, but 

who 

" trust 
The lingering gleam of their departed lives 
To oral record, and the silent heart; 
Depositories faithful and more kind 
Than fondest epitaph." 



CONSECRATION. G9 

But monuments will be appropriate also. Tlie 
" votive marble and the storied granite " will add 
much to the solemn and impressive beauty of the 
consecrated field. Onl}^ let them be simple and 
chaste, however sometimes massive and costly ; 
not indicating the pride and ostentation of the 
living, but the worth of the dead, and the reverent 
regard due to their memory. 

And emblematic devices and inscriptions, we 
would hope, will not go out of use, nor be infre- 
quent here. Whether from association or from 
inherent fitness, those appeals, found so often in 
ancient graveyards, are always welcome, such as 
" Pause, Traveller," " Siste Viator," and " Memen- 
to Mori." We reverently recognize the right of 
the dead to stop us at their graves and to preach 
thus. 

Epitaphs, descriptive of the personal character 
and social services of those who repose beneath, 
will be interesting and instructive. Let them be 
composed with truth and discrimination, and yet 
with generous allowance for the just influence of 
death in exalting to the mind and heart of surviv- 
ors the real virtues of the beloved and lamented. 
"What purity and brightness is that virtue clothed 
in, tlie image of which must no longer bless our 
living eyes I The character of a deceased friend 
or beloved kinsman is not seen, no — nor ought 



70 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

to be seen, otherwise than as a tree through a 
tender haze or a luminous mist, that spiritualizes 
and beautifies it; that take away, indeed, but only 
to the end that the parts which are not abstract- 
ed may appear more dignified and lovely ; may 
impress and affect the more. Let an epitaph be 
true, yet the truth hallowed by love — the joint 
offspring of the worth of the dead and the affec- 
tion of the living." * 

With the law of truth thus defined, observed in 
epitaphs, we should be willing, with the poet, to 
see 

" the ground all paved 
AVith commendations of departed worth ; 
Reading, where'er we turn, of innocent lives, 
Of each domestic charity fulfilled, 
And sufferings meekly borne — 
Among such fair recitals we should range, 
Soothed by the natural si3irit which they breathe." 

But it is not graves, nor monuments, nor sculp- 
tured epitaphs, beheld in prospect as part of the 
scenery of the spot, — it is not these that give 
the most affecting interest to the solemnities of 
this hour ; but it is the thought, rising with a fear- 
ful lialf consciousness in our minds, and awakening- 
deep awe and tenderness — the thought, whence 
shall come those, who shall fill these narrow 

* Wordsworth's Essay. 



CONSECRATIOX. 71 

chambers and sleep beneath these marble rec- 
ords? — From yonder dwellings they will come, 
from that thick concourse of the living, from the 
happy homes and joyous circles where we and 
ours do dwell. They come, a various company, 
to people these pleasant shades — the sick, who 
even now await the messenger, " and wrap the 
drapery of their couch about them " for the jour- 
ney hither ; and the healthy, for whom to-day love 
and hope count scores of years on earth; the 
child, gamboling as a very thing of life in the 
morning, and stricken from the parental arms at 
nightfall; the young, cut down in the midst of 
their bloom and promise ; the wi.->e, the strong, 
pillars in the social fabric, on whom many are 
leaning now so trustingly ; and the aged, to whom 
this resting-place is needful and welcome as "the 
shadow of a rock in a weary land." They will 
come in quick succession, and in unexpected order, 
as God shall call them. As we pass out hence to 
our homes, we may almost expect to meet the 
bearers at the gate. And we, any of us, frail as 
the frailest and appointed to die, may go forth 
from these shades to-day, only to turn back again 
upon our own footsteps, and re-enter, borne by 
men's hands, to depart no more. The brightest 
eye, the strongest arm, the most bounding heart, 
may come and be quenched and stilled within 



72 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

these bowers, e'er one hue in the green roof is 
changed or one leaf of it has fallen on the sod 
that shall cover them. 

Thus shall they come, they — we — all one 
mortal dying family, — come to constitute the 
great city of the dead, and line its silent streets 
with sepulchral abodes. They come, from amid 
partings how tender, and griefs how bitter, leav- 
ing what loneliness and desolation behind ! They 
come singly, but soon there shall be whole house- 
holds here. Parents, children, brothers, sisters, 
who hold living converse together in domestic 
love beneath one roof-tree yonder, shall quickly 
be grouped together here, side by side, in the 
green graves, and one tree of the forest shall over- 
shadow and shelter them all. 

It is anticipatory thoughts such as these, crowd- 
ing upon us here, that justify and demand the 
religious character which we have sought to give 
to these inaugural exercises, — the prayers and 
hymns and words of Holy Writ, by which we de- 
vote and yield up these peaceful hills and valleys 
to the thronging dead. 

The desire to invest the place with all religious 
associations, and to make it in all coming time a 
holy spot, where Christian faith and feeling shall 
be nourished in hallowed contemplation, and im- 
mortal hope rcplume its upward wings. 



CONSECRATION^. 16 

On the entablature of the gateway at the north- 
ern entrance, we shall hereafter see inscribed in 
golden lettcrS; those words of the Son of God, — 
words that have moved the heart of the world, 
and carried heavenly light into the dark places of 
mortality and grief, — I am the Kesurrection 
AND the Life. What words so fit to be graven 
on the portal of a Christian burial place, as well 
as on every Christian mourner's heart. He who 
spake them as the Father gave him to speak, was 
borne from his cross and laid down in a Garden, 
the garden of the sepulchre ; or rather would we 
call it by its greater name, the garden of the 
Eesurrection. All the spiritual charm of this 
lovely garden where we shall lay our treasures, 
shall be but a reflection of the beauty of that 
Garden of the Resurrection in far Jerusalem. 
The faith and hope and religious peace, that shall 
divest this place of graves of its mortal horrors, 
are but amaranthine flowers transplanted from 
that garden to this — from the grave of the Mas- 
ter to the grave of the disciple. The angels that 
watched by that sealed tomb, to the eye of faith 
shall watch by these also. He who conquered 
death there, hath abolished it here. That glori- 
ous promise, " Because I live, ye shall live also," 
verified and confirmed at that opened and empty 
sepulchre, shall throw a heavenly radiance over 



74 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

the sepulchres of our righteous dead, proclaim 
their victory even in the arms of death and the 
lap of corruption, and* reconcile the nearest and 
most stricken mourner to gentle sorrow and 
cheerful fortitude and great peace in believing. 

The duties of this day are now discharged. 
Our poor services of dedication draw to their 
close, and in a few moments the sound thereof 
shall have died away amid the whispering of the 
leaves of the trees. 

It is not our feeble words and formal rites that 
shall truly consecrate the place — not these — 
but the coming in of the mighty hosts of the dead, 
and the thoughts and feelings that shall come with 
them, and linger round them in the hearts of the 
living who shall lay their best beloved here — 
these shall consecrate it. The tears that shall 
water its shaded avenues, as the sad processions 
shall wind slowly round to the opened sepulchres, 
shall consecrate it. The fond regrets that shall 
revert hither, every day, from bleeding hearts and 
bereaved homes, shall consecrate it. The green 
mounds that cover precious dust, the sombre tomb 
doors, the monuments gleaming through the wood, 
the fresh flowers laid upon the new graves, the 
shrubs planted and tended with trembling hand 
and tearful eye, these shall be a daily consecra- 



CONSECRATION. 75 

tion. The thouglits that visit the bowed mourn- 
ers bending over the ashes of their kindred ; the 
emotions, too deep for utterance and too sacred 
for witnesses, that shall seek indulgence within 
these forest coverts j the tender recollections, the 
gentle consolations, the religious vows, the im- 
mortal hopes, conceived and nourished in the 
solemn stillness of the place — these shall be its 
continuous and ever-heightening and cumulative 
consecration, to make it holy as old cathedral 
aisles, or ancient altars at which saints and mar- 
tyrs have bowed down and died. 

Come, then, ye advancing companies of the 
dying I Come, children of mortality, and take 
your allotted places within these peaceful bowers. 
They shall be sacred forever to your holy claim. 
We bid you welcome, sent of God, to your grassy 
couch spread in the gentle lap of nature by na- 
ture's God and yours. The earth lie light ^ipon 
you 1 Come, and our faithful care shall shield your 
slumbers. And He who clothes the flowers at 
your feet with glory, and upholds the sparrow 
that sings your matin song in the branches above, 
shall keep you in peace till the day of his appear- 
ing, when the graves shall be opened and the sea 
give up its dead. Come, in willing obedience to 
the summons of your God; and 0, be it, through 
His grace, with the song of the redeemed just 



76 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

parted from your marble lips, and the light of 
faith, lingering in your closing eyes, and the seal 
of the heavenly promise stamped on your tranquil 
brows ! Come, and, till the resurrection morn, 
rest here in peace, 

" And Nature's pleasant robe of green, 
Humanity's appointed shroud, enwrap 
Your monuments and your memory." 




THE SOUTHERN (GATEWAY. 



bntrg anb ^taiitits of Jf cwst Pills. 



The approaclies to Forest Hills from all sides 
are through pleasant and quiet roads, by well 
cultivated lands, delightful rural residences, or by 
the wilder beauties of unadorned nature. In the 
season of verdure and flowers few more agreeable 
drives can be found in the vicinity of Boston than 
through the streets and avenues that lead to the 
cemetery. There are beautiful views in every 
direction from the elevated grounds, and in the 
valleys or the woods many -a nook may be observ- 
ed where cottages may nestle, while all around are 
springing up elegant villas, and pleasant grounds 
mark the progress of taste and refinement. But 
from no direction is the cemetery noticeable at 
any distance, except perhaps on the southeastern 
side. It is shut out from the world, a calm re- 
treat, though near the rapid tide of life. 

The main entrance to the cemetery is reached 



78 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

from the liighway, Scarborougli street, by a broad 
avenue which curves up a gentle ascent till it 
reaches the gateway. As it approaches the gate- 
way, this avenue is divided by a group of trees, 
but unites again directly in front of the entrance. 
The gateway at this entrance is of somewhat im- 
posing dimensions, the whole structure having a 
front of one hundred and sixty feet. The carriage 
way is through an Egyptian portico, copied from 
an ancient portico at Garsery on the upper Nile. 
It consists of two piers, inside of which are mas- 
sive columns richly sculptured, all supporting a 
heavy cap with its concave entablature, which is 
ornamented on the outer side with a large winged 
globe. This portico is forty feet in width and 
twenty-four feet high. On each side, a little re- 
moved, are smaller gates for pedestrians, and near 
these are small lodges corresponding with the 
gateway in style. The gates consist of high pal- 
ings, which are alternately surmounted with lotus 
blossoms and lance heads, and similar palings 
extend from the gate piers to the lodges. 

Upon the outer architrave of the gateway are 
inscribed, in golden letters, the words : 

" Though I walk through the Yalley of the 
SHADOW OF Death I will fear no evil." 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 79 

On the interior architrave; in the same kind of 
letters, are the words : 

"I AM THE Resurrection and the Life." 

Consecrated June 28, 1848. 

The gateway and lodges are built of wood, paint- 
ed and sanded in imitation of Jersey sandstone. 
For wooden structures, they are built in a very 
thorough and durable manner, but it is hoped that 
these may, before many years, give place to more 
enduring structures of stone, as is contemplated 
by the commissioners. 

There is a difference of opinion as to the pro- 
priety of using, as is much the custom, the Egyp- 
tian architecture about our burial places. A relic 
of paganism, it is by some esteemed out of place 
in a Christian cemetery. But it is essentially the 
architecture of the grave. Its original examples 
are the monuments of remote ages, of buried 
cities, of nations passed away ; marking the burial 
places of kings, of dynasties and of peoples. Im- 
posing and sombre in its form and mysterious in 
its remote origin, it seems peculiarly adapted to 
the abode of the dead, and its enduring character 
contrasts strongly and strangely with the brief 
life of mortals. Nor is it without the symbols of 
immortality, which the purer faith of the Christian 



80 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

can well ajDpropriate and associate with the more 
sacred and divine promises of the gospel. 

There are other entrances on the southern and 
eastern sides of the cemetery. On the southern 
side the cemetery grounds do not extend to any 
public street, but an avenue thirty-three feet wide 
is laid out from Walk Hill street to the boundary 
of the cemetery, where there is an entrance 
through a gate supported by Egyptian piers. 
This avenue is shaded on each side by thickly- 
growing evergreens, and from it the visitor enters 
at once upon one of the most beautiful parts of 
the cemetery. 

The eastern entrance is from Canterbury street, 
through a gateway similar to that on the southern 
side. The scenery in this vicinity is of the most 
rural kind. There is a broad plain, or intervale, 
lying between the Blue Hills on the one side, and 
the range of which Forest Hills compose a part, 
on the other, showing well-cultivated farms, wav- 
ing fields extending up to the woodland at the 
base of the Blue Hills, and here and there unas- 
suming farm-houses and generous barns ', while in 
the distance, just seen over the woods, is one of 
the villages of Milton. The open and cultivated 
portion of the cemetery grounds extends down to 
and forms a part of this intervale ; and when it 
shall be laid out and improved, it will form one of 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 81 

the most attractive and beautiful sections of the 
cemetery. Not being laid out, however, these 
grounds are not frequented by visitors ; yet it is 
well worth more than a passing glance to behold 
from the rising ground on this side the charming 
landscape which is here spread out, especially 
when the morning or evening sun throws length- 
ened shadows on the plain. Shut in by the dark 
back-ground of the Blue Hills, and the woods and 
eminences on either side, it is a picture of peace 
and quiet rural life such as is seldom seen in such 
close proximity to the metropolis. 

From the main entrance three avenues diverge 
towards different parts of the cemetery, that on 
the right, however, being designed to open into 
lands which have not yet been added to the 
grounds. Chestnut Avenue, which leads to the 
left, passes over a gentle elevation, and thence 
through the vale of Lake Dell towards Consecra- 
tion Hill. On the right hand of this avenue, be- 
fore reaching Lake Dell, rises a rocky eminence, 
called Snowflake Cliff, from a beautiful wild plant 
which grows at its base. This cliff is steep and 
craggy on the northern side, and is thickly cover- 
ed with trees and underwood ; but on the southern 
side, where some beautiful burial lots have been 
laid out, the ascent is quite easy. From the sum- 
mit of this rock there is a beautiful view of the 



82 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY* 

village of Jamaica Plain, and of tlie wooded hills 
of Brookline and tlie country beyond. 

Lake Dell is a natural pool thickly overshadow- 
ed by trees which grow from its banks. On either 
side an avenue is laid out, and from these the 
wooded hills rise, enclosing a most quiet and 
beautiful dell, suggesting the name of the pond. 
At present little has been done to this part of the 
cemetery except to lay out the avenues, but when 
it shall have been improved and cultivated like 
the southern portion of the grounds, it will be no 
less beautiful than that, while it will possess some 
peculiar charms. It was originally intended to 
deepen and beautify this pond, but its springs are 
so sluggish that it might be necessary to introduce 
water from some other source, in order to afford 
a supply and to keep it pure. This was suggest- 
ed, in the first annual report of the commissioners, 
by Gen. Dearborn, who, anticipating the necessity 
of such a supply, did not hesitate to propose the 
introduction of water by artificial means at some 
future time, which, after supplying Lake Dell, 
should flow thence by a cascade into other ponds, 
to be excavated in the low land east of it. Since 
this suggestion, however, a different plan has been 
adopted with regard to the lakes, and the abun- 
dant springs in Lake Hibiscus renders it unneces- 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 83 

sary to seek a foreign supply, wliich could only 
be done at great expense. 

It is now proposed that Lake Dell, which, sup- 
plied by its own springs alone, would be little 
better than a stagnant or grassy pool, should be 
filled up. The westerly end has already been 
filled, and a large receiving tomb has been con- 
structed on the land so made. The tomb is cov- 
ered with earth, forming a high mound, through 
which the trees which were formerly by the bor- 
ders of the pond now grow, giving it the appear- 
ance of a natural formation, or one constructed so 
long ago that it is shaded by the natural growth 
of wood upon its sides. Should the remainder of 
the pond be filled, it is suggested that the chapel 
— the erection of which is contemplated — should 
be built upon this site. A more beautiful and 
appropriate site for such an edifice could hardly 
be selected in any part of the grounds. The 
quiet and beautiful dell, surrounded by solemn 
shadows, would be a fitting spot for a temple 
dedicated to the last rites which the living per- 
form for the dead, and a modest and appropriate 
Gothic chapel would be a beautiful object in such 
scenery. The situation possesses other advan- 
tages, it being quite near the entrance, while an 
avenue passing on each side would render it more 
accessible and convenient for use. 



84 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

The liill rising on the north of Lake Dell is de- 
signated as Chapel Hill, and here it was at first 
proposed to erect a chapel. This hill still lies in 
its natural state, except that on one side a deep 
excavation has been made for the purpose of ob- 
taining materials for making avenues. This exca- 
vation is suggested by the superintendent as a 
site for a new receiving tomb of larger dimensions 
than those already constructed, which will be 
needed before many years. When the tomb is 
built, the ground might be put into its original 
shape, and trees planted so as to conceal entirely 
the purpose to which it is appropriated. The 
formation of this hill and its position are not very 
well adapted for the erection of a chapel, although 
in the laying out of the grounds it was designa- 
ted for that purpose. The dell is a much better 
site, more beautiful and picturesque, as well as 
more accessible. But the sides of Chapel Hill 
(which name would still be appropriate were the 
chapel erected in the dell at its base,) would 
afford numerous beautiful burial lots. 

From the eastern end of Lake Dell, Magnolia 
Avenue leads to the summit of Consecration Hill, 
which rises in an angle of the cemetery, and 
touches its northern and eastern boundaries. As 
its name indicates, the consecration services were 
performed here, at the foot of its southern slope, 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 85 

while the audience which was gathered there on 
that day were ranged upon the hill-side. Conse- 
cration Hill is one of the highest of the Forest 
Hills, and from its summit is a beautiful prospect. 
Through the vistas of the trees there are charm- 
ing views of the Blue Hills and the intervening 
valley, and in other directions of hills and plains, 
of farm-houses, villas and cottages, with here and 
there a church spire rising above the distant 
woods. From a rustic observatory, which was 
constructed about the trunks of some high trees 
in the early days of the cemetery, there was a 
still more extensive prospect, and in one direction 
might be caught a glimpse of the blue waters of 
the bay, adding still more to the variety of the 
panorama of wild and cultivated beauty such as 
is seldom surpassed. The foliage has, however, 
closed up the vistas which had been cut through 
the trees, and the view from the surface of the 
ground is now the finest. It has been suggested, 
that when the funds of the cemetery should per- 
mit it, a durable stone tower might be erected 
here. But it is not to be forgotten that these 
grounds are not a park for mere pleasure, and 
though it may be desirable to surround the grave 
with so much of beauty and adorn it with so much 
of art, the cemetery should never be made simply 
a pleasure-ground, nor its improvements or struc- 



86 FOKEST HILLS CEMETERY. 

tures be such as have no connection with its 
sacred purpose. 

Following Rock Maple Avenue, the visitor is 
led from the eastern end of Lake Dell around the 
base of Mount Warren, which rises on the right, 
for the most part regularly but steeply, with here 
and there large boulders protruding above the 
surface. The side of Mount Warren is clothed 
with a thick growth of wood, and this avenue, in 
the afternoon especially, lies in deep shadow 
under the foliage. Curving around the foot of the 
hill it is a pleasant approach to some of the more 
attractive spots in the cemetery, and leads direct- 
ly to the pleasant dell at the foot of Mount Dear- 
born and Fountain Hill. In this dell there is a 
little nook, which seems almost a grotto under 
the overhanging foliage of trees and shrubs, that 
grow on the precipitous sides of Fountain Hill. 
The deep shadows seem to spread a refreshing 
coolness around, and invite one to rest on the 
garden-seats, which are disposed on one side, 
while on the other is a rustic fountain — a natural 
spring, over which is erected a covering of rough 
stones. The stones are clothed with lichens, 
and in the interstices are planted moss, brakes, 
and other wild plants, the whole forming a pretty 
rustic monument. On the upper stone is fixed a 



y.!^K^f^ 






^A^^^s^^ 




FoiTM'AJiX DKLI. 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 87 

bronze plate bearing the following -wordS; by 
which the refreshing waters of the spring utter a 
lesson which; perhaps, is not always unheeded by 
those who linger about this beautiful spot : — 

"WHOSOEVER DRINKETH OF THIS WATER WILL 

THIRST AGAIN J BUT THE WATER THAT I 

SHALL GIVE, WILL BE IN HIM A WELL 

OF WATER SPRINGING UP LNTO 



From this vicinity two avenues lead up, through 
natural depressions, or original water-courses, to 
the higher plain of the cemetery, one on each side 
of Mount Dearborn, which juts out like a rocky 
promontory between these avenues. The eastern 
side of this hill is very rough and precipitous, 
huge boulders being piled one above another, in 
fantastic shapes, clothed with shrubbery which 
grows in the fissures of the stones, and shaded by 
trees which have found root beneath them. From 
the vicinity of the fountain, or as approached 
through Rock Maple Avenue, this hill presents a 
picturesque appearance and a beautiful variation 
from the scenery of other portions of the grounds. 

From the Fountain dell a steep path leads up 
the southern side of Mount Dearborn, and then 
up its more gentle western slope to the top. As 
seen from the plain on the west of the hill, it ap- 



88 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

pears to be only a slight elevation, but it rises to 
a considerable height above the low land on the 
opposite side. On the summit is the monument 
erected by his friends and fellow-citizens as a tri- 
bute to the memory of Gen. Dearborn, mention 
of which is made in another place. The prospect 
from this hill is not very extensive, but glimpses 
may be had of some of the most finished and beau- 
tiful portions of the cemetery. The level ground 
between Mount Dearborn and Eliot Hills, which 
rise opposite on the west, was the first to be se- 
lected for burial lots and prepared for use. It is 
all finished, and the time which has elapsed since 
the improvements were made, has afforded growth 
to the trees and shrubs, and rendered the aspect 
of the place more beautiful, so that it is literally 
a garden of the dead, blooming with lovely flow- 
ers or shadowed by the luxuriant foliage of va- 
rious species of trees. On the opposite side, 
through the openings of the foliage, is a view of 
Lake Hibiscus, and over the hill southeast of that 
the Blue Hills are again seen. 

It is a quiet and beautiful spot, and the associ- 
ations of the place seem to impress themselves 
on the mind more deeply here, than in any other 
portion of the cemetery; for here rest the re- 
mains of him who with untiring devotion laid out 
the grounds, and developed and increased their 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 89 

beauty, and the mind is thus led directly from the 
contemplation of the lasting beauties of the place 
to thoughts of its sacred purpose, of the fleeting 
life of man, of the repose that here awaits his 
ashes, and of the hopes beyond the grave. 

From the dell which divides Mount Dearborn 
from Mount "Warren, an avenue leads, by a some- 
what steep ascent, to the top of the latter, which 
is, in fact, rather table-land than a hill. A more 
pleasing approach to it is from the main entrance, 
by Locust Avenue to Mount Warren Avenue. 
This hill, though lots were not much sought for 
here, at first, has become one of the most beauti- 
ful and attractive portions of the cemetery, nearly 
all of its surface, except the steep slopes on the 
north and east, being laid out in burial lots, and 
tastefully embellished. The prospect from Mount 
Warren is more limited than that from some of 
the other hills, owing to the growth of the trees 
which skirt its sides. But here and there through 
the trees a distant picture of rural scenery may 
be seen, or a nearer one of some beautiful spot in 
the cemetery, with the marble monuments gleam- 
ing among the foliage and flowers. 

A large part of tlie table land on Mount War- 
ren is more open than most parts of the cemetery, 
it having been found necessary to remove the 
trees in preparing the grounds. This affordsa 

H* 



90 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

variety to the scenery, which it is hoped may not 
be altogether lost by the growth of planted trees. 
There are also on different parts of this hill pic- 
turesque rocks and boulders which add to the 
beauties of the place. One of these, a very large 
boulder evidently split off from another large 
rock which has been removed, is on the southern 
slope of the hill. When the adjacent rocks were 
removed, it was found that this boulder could 
easily be moved on its foundation, so as to rock or 
sway several inches. Lest it should be thrown 
out of place, it has been fixed firmly. It forms 
a picturesque object in the scenery, over which 
creeping plants may be trained to clothe its 
rough proportions with graceful foliage. 

Another of these boulders is on the burial lot 
of the Warren family, on the summit of Mount 
Warren. It is an irregular block with a level 
top, and seems to be designed by nature for a 
pedestal. To such purpose it has been suggested 
that it be appropriated at some time — may we 
hope, not far distant ? In the first annual report 
of the commissioners. Gen. Dearborn suggested 
the propriety of erecting a bronze statue of Major 
General Joseph Warren, in some fitting place on 
this hill, which is named in honor of that illustri- 
ous man. It is a duty and a privilege to commem- 
orate the worth and services of those who have 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 91 

been distinguished in their time, and surely War- 
ren is entitled to such an honor in the garden 
cemetery of his birth-place and home. A bronze 
statue "^ would be a fitting monument to commem- 
orate the character and patriotism of such a man, 
and were one erected on the pedestal which nature 
has here ofi'ered, it would add much to the interest 
attached to the cemetery, and would be regarded 
as a shrine to be visited and honored so long as 
worth, patriotism and heroism shall excite the 
admiration or reverence of man. The ashes of 
General Warren, with others of the family, have 
recently been taken from their original resting- 
place, deposited in urns, and re-interred in this 
lot ; so that these grounds are in fact the shrine 
which contains his sacred remains. 

On the west of Mount Warren the ground falls 
away as far as the cemetery fence, and beyond j 
and a dell is here formed which will sometime be 
a beautiful part of the grounds. Clematis Path 

* The Crayon, in speaking of monuments, expresses sur- 
prise that there is not more attention paid to works in 
bronze for monumental purposes, so peculiarly adapted as 
the material is to our changeable climate. "For ceme- 
teries, it is especially serviceable, and we would earnestly 
invite attention to it, among other materials, as one of the 
best, not only on the score of its durability, but for its 
intrinsic qualities, as a very superior medium for the expres- 
sion of Art-thoughts. ' ' 



92 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

now leads through the upper portion of it up to 
the plain towards the Eliot Hills. At the back of 
the lots which front on one side of this path there 
is a terrace of rough stone-work, in the interstices 
of which are planted brakes and other wild plants, 
with moss, which give it a rustic finish and beauty. 

The Eliot Hills, which take their name from the 
Apostle Eliot, are four eminences in the south- 
western part of the cemetery ; or, more correctly, 
there is but one hill, having several small ridges 
or undulations near its summit. A large part of 
this hill is of rocky formation, and was somewhat 
rough and unpromising in its original aspect, for 
cemetery purposes. But it has changed to a most 
attractive spot, and some of the most finished and 
beautiful lots have been laid out upon its sides. 
From some of its shady paths you can look out 
over the garden-like grounds of the plain or gentle 
slope below, but there is no extensive prospect 
except from the northern side, where a pleasant 
view opens towards Brookline, and through a 
narrow vista far away to Cambridge and the hills 
beyond. 

The summit of this hill is of solid rock. Here 
it is proposed to erect a monument to commemo- 
rate the virtues and labors of the devoted Eliot, 
who for nearly sixty years was the pastor of the 
First Church in Roxbury, who with so much of 



^^s^^^^V*" 




VIEW SOUTH OJ^ ELIOT HILLs 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 93 

self-sacrifice and untiring energy sought to civil- 
ize and Christianize the savage, and who so truly 
earned the noble title of " Apostle to the Indians." 
In 1850, some preliminary measures were taken 
to secure funds for the erection of such a monu- 
ment ; a committee for that purpose was appoint- 
ed, and other steps were taken to awaken an 
interest in the work. Among those who engaged 
in the good cause was Gen. Dearborn, who pre- 
pared a sketch of the life of Eliot, which was 
printed for distribution. He also designed a 
monument,"^ an engraving of which accompanied 
the sketch of the life. Some progress was made 
in raising the necessary funds, but the work was 
for some reason suspended before it was near 
done, and thus it remains at this day. The pious 
intention, however, is not abandoned, and the 
work will in time be accomplished. The sooner 
it is done the more creditable will it be to the 
present generation, and that the memory of Eliot 
should have been suffered to remain unhonored 
during nearly two centuries, reflects but little 
credit on the people who have dwelt amid the 
scenes of his labors. For it is to such men that 
monuments are due. 

* This design is a Corinthian column surmounted by an 
urn; the whole forty-two feet high. A design more appro- 
priate to the subject might, perhaps, be selected. 



94 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

On the south of Mount Dearborn is another ele- 
vation of about the same height, which is called 
Fountain Hill, from the spring at its base, before 
alluded to. On the side of the Fountain dell this 
hill is very precipitous and thickly covered with 
trees and underwood. The eastern and south- 
eastern slopes are quite steep, but much less rug- 
ged and precipitous. Down its sides paths lead 
to Fountain Dell, and towards Lake Hibiscus, 
which can be seen gleaming through the foliage. 
Towards the south a path of more gentle descent, 
overlooking the lake, leads down to the grounds 
in the vicinity of the Field of Machpelah. For a 
portion of the distance the outer side of this path 
is supported by a rough wall, through which arbor 
vitae and other trees have been made to grow, 
the roots being planted below the wall. These 
trees, when they shall attain a larger growth; will 
add much to the picturesque beauty of this hill- 
side. The prospect from Fountain Hill is not 
very extensive ,* but on the south you can catch 
glimpses of a pleasant landscape, and there are 
on the opposite side views of beautiful spots in 
the cemetery grounds, down the gentle slope 
towards the Eliot Hills, and on Mount Dearborn. 

Towards the west this hill extends out into a 
table land, or rather a ridge, which slopes very 
gently down to the foot of Eliot Hills. The 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 95 

southern side of this ridge has been built up with 
a wall of rough stone-work, which forms a terrace 
extending from Fountain Hill nearly to the south- 
ern entrance of the cemetery. Along this terrace 
there is a beautiful prospect towards the south, 
looking directly over the Field of Machpelah to 
the hills and woods which stretch away to the 
Blue range. 

This gentle slope between the terrace and Eliot 
Hills is admirably adapted to the purposes of the 
cemetery, and admirably has it been improved. 
On a portion of it there was originally a thick 
grove of pines, whose deep and solemn shadows 
seemed to offer a quiet and sacred resting-place 
for the dead, where endless requiems might be 
sighed above them. Those deep shadows are 
gone now. In preparing the grounds for burial 
lots, it was necessary to remove a large portion 
of these evergreens, and those which remain 
seem to miss the companionship of their lost 
fellows. Some of them, however, are still beau- 
tiful trees, and each year is compensating in some 
degree for the loss of those removed. New trees 
are growing up, and though the solemn aisles of 
the original grove cannot be restored, a more 
artificial beauty has been developed, in which 
shrubs and flowers form a conspicuous feature. 



96 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

Into this portion of the cemetery the southern 
entrance opens, and in the vicinity of the gateway 
the pine groye retains more of its original solemn 
beauty. Down the avenue which leads from this 
gateway to Walk Hill street, with its thick ever- 
greens, is a view through the long vista which is 
sure to attract the eye. 

South of the terrace above-named, is a valley 
which was originally quite low and descended to 
a meadow on one side. At the right, on the 
higher part of this vale, is the " Field of Machpe- 
lah," enclosed with an evergreen hedge, laid out 
neatly with rectangular walks, and adorned with 
trees, shrubbery and flowers. The care bestowed 
upon it has already made it an attractive spot, 
which will increase in beauty as nature aids the 
efforts of art and the trees attain a larger growth. 
The lower part of this valley has been filled up 
to a considerable depth, even down to the vicinity 
of the pond, and it has been laid out and embel- 
lished so as to be one of the most garden-like 
spots in the cemetery. The improvements are 
being rapidly extended in this direction towards 
the summit of Cypress Hill and to the southern 
boundary of the grounds ; and art and labor have 
already accomplished so much, that no unseemly 
gap is left here, as the original aspect of the 
ground threatened, between those parts of the 



'%■' 




^ih^Mr 



KIELI) OF >IA( HTKLAIi. 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 97 

cemetery which nature rendered more attractive, 
and more easy of improvement. 

Cypress Hill, which is the first elevation on the 
open portion of the cemetery, immediately over- 
looks the quiet plain of " Canterbury " and a por- 
tion of the neighboring cemetery of Mount Hope 
— the pleasant landscape repeatedly alluded to 
in these pages. On the opposite side there are 
views of different portions of the cemetery 
grounds. There are but few trees on this hill, 
except those recently planted, but there is a quiet 
charm about the spot, even in its openness and 
want of shade, so favorable for the distant pros- 
pect, that makes it one of the attractive localities 
of the cemetery. 

East of Cypress Hill extend the open grounds, 
presenting an undulating surface, — gentle swells 
of land, which gradually descend to the fertile 
plain near the eastern boundary. A part of this 
ground has been planted with numerous trees, but 
for the most part it yet appears open and unshad- 
ed ; but it offers an admirable opportunity for the 
art of the landscape gardener, who may convert 
it, after a time, into the most beautiful part of the 
cemetery. It is to be hoped that this whole sur- 
face will not be thickly planted with trees, but that 
it may be varied with picturesque groups and open 
ground, with here and there single trees having 



98 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

ample room to attain a noble size, so as to pre- 
sent everywhere a pleasing variety of scenery. 

Lake Hibiscus, already an attractive feature, 
promises to be one of the chief beauties of Forest 
Hills. It lies a short distance east of Fountain 
Hill, and is approached by avenues from different 
parts of the cemetery. This pond is excavated 
in what was formerly a meadow, supplied with 
copious springs of water, which flowed off in a 
small stream towards the north. It is of an ir- 
regular form, and when completed according to 
the proposed plan, will cover an area of about 
three acres. In it two islands have been formed, 
one of which contains a copious and never-failing 
spring of crystal water, which gushes up through 
the pebbly bottom of a little basin. Unfortunate- 
ly for appearances, the basin has been recently 
covered, and a chain-pump introduced for utility's 
sake. About the island birches are planted, and 
willows are trained across the rustic bridge by 
which it is reached. This island is a favorite re- 
sort for visitors, who gather here to watch the 
graceful swans and the snowy ducks, as they sail 
about their domain. The beautiful swans,* espe- 
cially, are always objects of interest, and are 

* Imported from England in the spring of 1855. 






'■^1^?.^- 



LAKE HIBISCUS. 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 99 

quite ready to meet their visitors, and receive 
food from their hands. From them the other 
island, which is larger than that containing the 
spring, takes its name, and to their use it is to be 
appropriated. It is near what will be the middle 
of the pond when completed. 

The supply of water in this little lake is very 
abundant, and there is no danger that it will be- 
come a stagnant pool, or expose a dry basin even 
in the seasons of great drought. The pond is so 
excavated and walled up to the grassy banks that 
it will show a clear expanse of water, and when 
it is completed will be as beautiful a little lake as 
could be desired. Besides being an attractive 
feature in the scenery, and affording a relief to 
the eye, after dwelling on the dark-green foliage 
of tree and shrub in other parts of the cemetery, 
it happily disposes of a portion of the grounds 
that could not otherwise be well improved. 

The low, meadow land extends some distance 
north of Lake Hibiscus, towards Consecration 
Hill. The original plan was to excavate one or 
more small ponds here ; but the making of Lake 
Hibiscus so large has modified the plan, and this 
ground will probably be laid out in a different 
manner. That portion between the water-course 
and the avenues at the foot of Mount Warren and 



100 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

Mount Dearborn, it is proposed to appropriate to 
the purposes of a garden, wliicli is highly desira- 
ble for the cultivation of plants for the borders 
in the cemetery. This land could not well be 
used for burial purposes, but is finely adapted for 
a garden ; and though it could not be laid out as 
a pleasure-ground, if cultivated and kept with the 
care and taste which characterize the other parts 
of the grounds, it will be an attractive feature in 
the scenery. 

The numerous boulders which are scattered 
over some parts of the cemetery, have not only 
added to the picturesque character of its scenery, 
but have afforded an opportunity for rustic orna- 
ment in laying out the grounds. Some of the 
most striking and picturesque rocks have been 
suffered to remain in their natural state, the labor 
of art going only so far as more clearly to devel- 
ope their beauty and to adorn the grounds around. 
One of the most picturesque groups of these rocks 
is on the lot of Gen. William H. Sumner, called 
Sumner Hill, on the western slope of Mount War- 
ren. They have not suffered by the hand of art, 
and the lot is one of the most beautiful and 
appropriate in the whole cemetery. Some other 
more noticeable boulders have already been men- 
tioned, and they will be seen in various parts of 



,v r^ Sig'5^ 




SU31NER HILL. 



SCENERY AND BEAUTIES. 101 

the cemetery by those who have a taste for such 
objects. 

A portion of these stones, which it was found 
necessary or desirable to remove, have been used 
for the construction of terrace walls on the sides 
of some of the lots ; others have been laid as a 
rustic border about the angles formed at the 
intersection of avenues or paths, and around 
those beautiful compartments which are profusely 
planted with flowering shrubs. Over some of the 
stones grow beautiful creeping plants or mosses, 
which add very much to the minor beauties of the 
place. 

One of the attractive features at Forest Hills 
is the profusion of flowers which bloom in some 
parts of it, making it in truth a garden cemetery. 
In most of the borders attached to the lots there 
are flowers in more or less abundance, besides 
which there are numerous triangles formed by the 
intersection of avenues or paths, and other spots 
not quite adapted to burial lots, which are pre- 
pared as flower borders, or are planted with 
various flowering shrubs. Then, again, within 
many of the lots affection has planted beautiful 
flowers over the grave ; so that the bloom of the 
garden may be considered as one of the charac- 
teristics of the grounds, a beauty which meets 
I* 



102 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

tlie eye on all sides, and lends a peculiar cliarm 
to the place. 

Such is a brief outline of some of the scenery 
and beauties of Forest Hills, designed to lead the 
reader to those places where the beauties may be 
seen, rather than to describe them. The eye of 
taste will find much to observe that has not here 
been mentioned, and in nearly all parts of the 
cemetery objects and views which will attract and 
delight. Time, too, must create much that will 
add to the attractions of the place. But, even 
now, it needs only a visit to see and to feel that 
Forest Hills, in their natural and artificial beauty 
and fitness, are not surpassed by any other rural 
or garden cemetery.* 

* A Virginia clergyman, who visited the North during the 
present season (1855), writing for a Richmond newspaper, 
thus gives his impressions of a visit to Forest Hills : 

' ' ' Forest Hills Cemetery ' — what a sweet name — is in a 
rural retreat. It is far superior, in point of location, to 
Mount Auburn. It has been opened but a very few years, 
and yet it already begins to vie with the most attractive 
cemeteries of this country. There are deep and quiet dells, 
and woody hill-tops, with a variety of sweet and fragrant 
flowers scattered in endless profusion along the winding 
ways, called by pretty names. The specimens of monu- 
mental sculpture are in exquisite taste, and many of the 
epitaphs, simple, brief and touching, speak to the heart." 



MBitununts. 



o^ 



The number of Monuments at Forest Hills, 
compared with the number of lots which have 
been taken, is small. In this respect it presents 
a contrast with Mount Auburn, when that ceme- 
tery was in the early period of its existence. 
There, monuments were erected on a large pro- 
portion of the lots first taken; in many cases 
before the lots were enclosed, and before inter- 
ments had been made in them. At Forest Hills, 
from the first, the erection of monuments seems 
to have been the exception rather than the rule. 
A large number of the lots are enclosed, and the 
name of the proprietor is borne upon the gate, 
without any monumental structure or stone. 
Even where interments have been made, the 
grave is in many cases adorned with flowers, or 
is marked by a simple slab or scroll, but has no 
more ostentatious stone to bear the inscriptions 



104 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

which sorrow sometimes places over the beloved 
and the good. It is a simpler custom, perhaps 
less attractive to the eye of some observers, but 
quite as impressive to the heart of him 

" who wanders through these solitudes 

In mood contemplative ;" 

and as a matter of taste is much to be preferred 
to a universal display of monumental stones, 
among which so few possess the merit either of 
beauty or fitness. 

An entire absence of monuments would be a 
marked deficiency in grounds like these, hardly 
less to be regretted than an excess of such stones 
in which bad taste prevailed. There is a mean 
between these extremes which better pleases the 
eye of taste, where occasional monuments, beauti- 
ful in their simplicity or appropriateness, meet 
the view, scattered among the trees and shrubs, 
and gleaming through the foliage. Forest Hills, 
at present, hardly transcend this happy mean 
in the number of monuments, at least ; and 
though true taste may find something to condemn, 
and perceive the want of something more and 
difi'ercnt in this respect, yet as a whole the mon- 
uments erected there are open to few objections. 
Most of them are simple and unostentatious, and 
more appropriate, therefore, and better adapted 



MONUMENTS. 1U5 

to the scene than would be the costly mausoleums 
which pomp and wealth sometimes erect, to show 
rather the pride of the living than the virtues of 
the dead. 

Of eminent persons this cemetery can boast of 
few names in the record of its tenants. The 
sacred shades of Mount Auburn have offered a 
resting-place to many such, both on account of its 
celebrity and its long establishment ; and it has 
thus become a more sacred spot in the eyes of 
the world, for the visitor there makes a pilgrim- 
age to the tombs of the illustrious dead, whose 
names were widely known and honored while 
living. As time passes. Forest Hills will become 
the resting-place of many more who have been 
eminent for their services or their virtues, and to 
those unconnected with the cemetery by closer 
associations it will thus become more sacred and 
beautiful. Yet it is not, surely, the names of an 
illustrious few which consecrate such grounds. 
The virtues of those unknown save in the quiet 
circle where they lived and loved, their modest 
worth, benevolence, or piety, and all those ele- 
ments of character which endeared them to the 
hearts of friends and associates — these it is 
which more truly consecrate the burial place. 
And as circle after circle is thus brought to 
mourn over their lost, the ground which holds 



106 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

tlie sacred remains becomes hallowed to many 
hearts. 

It is not the design of these pages to form a 
record of private sorrows as they have found 
expression over the graves of the loved and 
revered ; nor yet to present a catalogue of those 
whose names or epitaphs are borne upon the 
votive stone. There are some monuments and 
hallowed spots which claim more than a passing 
glance from the visitor, and of which notice may 
be taken without trespassing on the sacred rights 
of bereaved affection. But, in general, it is simply 
our purpose to direct attention to some of the 
more noticeable monuments in the cemetery, with- 
out giving the inscriptions which they may bear. 

One of the most beautiful and appropriate 
monuments is that of Edmund D wight, on Walnut 
Avenue, at the southern base of Snowflake Cliff. 
The spot where it is erected is a sheltered nook 
with a pleasant sunny aspect, and back of it rises 
the steep, high rock, its summit crowned with 
shrubs. The monument is an octagonal pointed 
Gothic structure, of dark sandstone, elaborate in 
design and finely wrought. On each of the faces 
are panels with pointed arches, above which rises 
a spire or pinnacle ornamented with crockets and 




VIEW SOUTH OF SNOWFLAKE CLTFF. 



MONUMENTS. 107 

surmounted by a small cross. In front of the 
monmncnt are Gothic head-stones of the same 
material, of different forms, and bearing the 
names of those interred, with appropriate in- 
scriptions. At the sides the lot is enclosed by 
thickly-growing pines, and in front there is a 
heavy and beautiful balustrade of stone and 
bronze, corresponding in style to the monument 
and head-stones. Although the work is somewhat 
elaborate in its details, the various parts are so 
well adapted to each other and to the place, that 
the whole has the appearance of simplicity and 
perfect fitness. On either side of Mr. Dwight's 
lot are those of Samuel May and James S. Amory. 
Neither of these arc enclosed or have monuments 
upon them, but they are beautiful in theij; situ- 
ation, and are ornamented with a profusion of 
flowers in their borders. 

On the summit of Consecration Hill are two 
monuments, erected on the only lots which have 
there been taken. One of them is that of Robert 
B. Forbes. It is a granite base, with marble 
panels, surmounted by a granite obelisk — a sim- 
ple and massive monument. A horizontal marble 
slab, handsomely wrought, and bearing a touching 
inscription, is placed over the grave of an infant. 
The lot is a beautiful one in its situation, and 



108 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

commands a view of the hills of Milton and the 
intervening valley and slopes, a scene of beauty 
and quiet vs^hich seems to impress the beholder 
with a sense of the fitness of the spot for a burial 
place. 

The other monument on this hill is that of Wil- 
liam P. Mackay, a Gothic pedestal surmounted by 
an urn. It is of the Nova Scotia gray sandstone, 
which seems well adapted to monumental sculp- 
ture, and in its color blends finely with rural 
scenery. 

Not far from the foot of Consecration Hill, 
standing alone in a part of the cemetery which is 
yet almost in its natural state, is a monument 
erected over the remains of the late Major Town- 
send, of the army. It is a plain marble pedestal, 
on which rests a well-sculptured eagle with out- 
spread wings. On the front of the pedestal is 
the following inscription : 

"Major David S. Townsend, 

Paymaster U. S. Army. 

Born in Boston, Mass., April 19, 1790; 

Severely wounded 

At Chrystler's Field, Nov. 11, 1813, 

Died Jan. 28, 1853. 

Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re." 

Returning to Snowflake Clifi*, and passing on 
towards Mount Warren, we see on the right of 



MONUMENTS. 109 

Mount Warren Avenue, near Sumner Hill, one of 
those simple and appropriate little monuments, 
which are found in many parts of the cemetery 
over the graves of children. It is a plain block 
of white marble, on which is a dove with wings 
spread as if just ready to fly. On the block is 
the inscription " Angel Ella," with a verse. At 
the foot of the grave is a marble cross, and flowers 
are planted on the little mound. The lot bears 
the name of Gr. H. Mowe. 

A little farther towards Mount Warren is a 
monument bearing the name of Worthington — a 
high pedestal of white marble with a large funeral 
urn, over which hangs a scroll, inscribed, " There 
is rest in Heaven." On the pedestal are inscrib- 
ed the names of the dead. 

Passing on to the open table land of Mount 
Warren, the monument of William F. Weld at- 
tracts the eye. It is of white marble, of pointed 
Gothic style, similar in design to that of Mr. 
Dwight, but more elaborate in its ornaments, and 
not so massive. At the base, on each of the eight 
faces of the turret, is a shield for inscriptions. 
The spire is surmounted with a large Gothic cross. 
The design is rich and beautiful, but the execution 
of the work is not of equal excellence. In the 
open ground, where it stands, this monument is a 

K 



110 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

conspicuous object, and it is an ornament to tlie 
place. 

Further eastward, towards the summit of the 
hill; there are a number of monuments, most of 
them simple and unpretending. Among the more 
beautiful will be noticed that on the lot of J. A. 
Hanson, a handsome white marble pedestal, with 
raised tablets on the sides for inscriptions, and on 
the top an urn ornamented with sculptured flow- 
ers. The front tablet bears the name of one 
much lamented, and lines descriptive of the last 
hour. 

In the lot of Adams Bailey, on Laurel Path, are 
two Gothic tablets, one of which is inscribed: 
" Here repose the remains of Captain Adams Bai- 
ley, an officer of the Revolutionary Army. Born 
Jan. 27, 1749, Obt. July 26, 1824, ^tat. 75 
years." 

On a lot, bearing the name of Foster, is a gray 
sandstone pedestal, surmounted by an urn. A 
large leaf bends over the tops of the panels on 
the sides, giving a peculiar form to the monument. 
Not far distant, on Mount Warren Avenue, is the 
lot of the late Reuben Richards, on which is a 
handsome marble monument, consisting of a pe- 
destal bearing an obelisk ornamented with ivy 
leaves and surmounted by an urn. Further up 
the hill are two plain slabs, one of which is in- 



MONUMENTS. Ill 

scribed; "Joseph Harrington. Born Jan. 27, 1791 ; 
died Dec. 7, 1852," — and the other, "Rev. Joseph 
Harrington, Pastor of the First Unitarian Church 
in San Francisco; died in that city Nov. 2, 1852, 
aged 39 years." 

On the summit of the hill are the united lots of 
the Warren family, to which allusion has been 
made in another place. On one side of this lot 
is a stone bearing the name of Dwight. It is a 
marble block, on the front of which is a beautiful 
alto-relievo of Christ blessing little children — 
wrought in Rome by an Italian artist. On the 
reverse is a cypher and inscription. It is an un- 
pretending monument, devoid of ornament, apart 
from the relief, but it is a most appropriate and 
beautiful one ; and though, as a work of art, per- 
haps open to criticism, as a piece of monumental 
sculpture it is far above the more ostentatious 
and costly structures which prevail in some ceme- 
teries, and much more worthy of contemplation. 
On different parts of the lot are small iron crosses 
on which to hang wreaths of flowers or evergreen. 

Just at the commencement of the southern 
descent of Mount Warren, on Mount Warren 
Avenue, is another highly finished and beautiful 
monument bearing the name of White. It is a 
marble sarcophagus, finely wrought, with an ivy 
wreath in the centre of the top and ivy twining 



112 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

along the verge. The cornice is supported by 
richly-sculptured brackets of Italian marble. It 
is one of the most highly finished and beautiful 
monuments in the cemetery, and the lot is evi- 
dently kept with much care, and blooms with 
many flowers. Near this, on Kalmia Path, is a 
square pedestal, perfectly plain, bearing the name 
of Thomas D. Quincy. 

On the northern side of the hill, not far distant 
from each other, are two marble scrolls, similar 
in design, on each of which a lamb is reclining, 
and each bears on the front the name " Carrie " — 
simple and fitting mouments for innocence and 
youth which there repose. On the reverse of one 
of the scrolls is a portion of the dirge written 
by Mrs. Hemans : 

'' Calm on the bosom of thy God, 
Young spirit ! rest thee now ! 
Ev'n while with us thy footsteps trod, 
His seal was on thy brow." 

By the side of Grape Path, in this vicinity, in 
the lot of David A. Simmons, will be observed a 
marble vase on a pedestal of gray sandstone, 
which bears an inscription. In the adjoining lot 
of Thomas Simmons is a large Gothic tablet, a 
simple but tasteful monument. 

On Linden Avenue, in the lot of J. S. Eldridge, 



MONUMENTS. Il3 

is a marble block with a scroll, on which rests a 
lamb. The scroll is inscribed, " Our darling May," 
and " She is not dead, but sleepeth." On the 
same avenue, at the western end of the table land, 
is the monument of William Yarnum — a white 
marble base and small shaft bearing an urn, of 
Norman style. 

At the junction of Mount Warren and Pine 
avenues, and bordering also on Azalea Path, is a 
shadowy nook embowered in the foliage of vari- 
ous trees, among which the magnolia mingles its 
broad leaves and beautiful blossoms. On Azalea 
Path is a profusion of flowers, through which a 
way leads, under a Gothic iron arch clad with 
creeping plants, to the enclosed lot of E. D. Peters 
and J. P. Ellicott. There is also an entrance from 
Pine Avenue. In the lot, almost hidden by the 
thick foliage of trees and shrubs, are several mon- 
uments, — on one side, a rustic cross of sandstone 
and an urn of the same material ; and on the other 
a white marble pedestal with Gothic panels, sur- 
mounted by an urn. The name of one deceased is 
inscribed within a circle upon the latter. A white 
marble cross, bearing an inscription, is placed over 
a grave in the front part of the lot. 

Next to this lot, on Pine Avenue, is another 
large and beautiful one, bearing the name of Per- 
kins. The lot is enclosed by a hedge of arbor 



114 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

vit83, witliin which are walks and flower borders, 
and in the rear, under the rock which forms the 
back part of the lot, and shaded by evergreens, is 
a secluded nook, for a chair. The centre of the 
lot is again enclosed by an iron paling, within 
which is a monument of polished granite. It con- 
sists of a massive base, or pedestal, on two sides 
of which, in basso relievo, are winged heads sur- 
rounded with clouds, and on another side an 
inscription. The base is heavily moulded and is 
admirably wrought. On it stands a large, plain 
cross. The design is simple, but elegant and 
costly, and in point of taste and execution this 
monument is excelled by none in the cemetery. • 

Opposite the last-named lot is that of Messrs. 
Perrin. Besides a plain obelisk of white marble, 
this lot contains a medallion tablet or shield, on 
which, in basso relievo, is an angel descending 
with a wreath, and underneath the name, " Corne- 
lia." There are also scrolls, with broken flowers, 
over the graves of children. 

On Clematis Path, at the head of the dell which 
lies west of Mount Warren, will be observed the 
lot of John C. Park. The monument is a sand- 
stone block, on the front of which is. a large scroll 
which bears an inscription. There are also two 
crosses at the heads of graves, and a vase. A 



MONUMENTS. 115 

garden cliair is placed in the lot, and Tines arc 
trained upon tlie terrace-wall at tlie back. 

South, and near the foot of Mount Warren, at 
the junction of Mount Warren and Red Oak ave- 
nueS; is a monument erected to the memory of 
William B. Tappan, known as a poet, and for his 
interest in Sabbath Schools. It is of sandstone, 
and consists of a simple base and obelisk, and 
bears the following inscription : 

"Here rest, in glorious hope, 

the mortal remains of 

William B. Tappan, 

Who died June 19, 1849; aged 54. 

Farewell ! we meet in Heaven. 

Erected by Sabbath School Children of New England." 

In the lot of R. D. Goodnow, on White Oak 
Avenue, a short distance from the last-named 
monument, are a vase and a rustic cross, of mar- 
ble, inscribed " Our Harry." 

Passing on towards Mount Dearborn, on Cow- 
slip Path, will be observed a monument to Rev. 
Samuel D. Dexter. It is a Gothic tablet of dark 
sandstone, surmounted by a cross. At tlie top of 
the panel is the word "Excelsior," and underneath 
a hand pointing upward. On the base is a wreath 
of flowers surrounding a cypher. In the panel is 
the following inscription : 



116 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

" Samuel D. Dexter, 

Born in Boston, Oct. 3d, 1825. 

Was ordained junior Pastor of the Second Church 

in Exeter, N. H., December 2, 1847. 

Died in Roxbury April 20, 1850. 

' Lord, I believe. I shall be satisfied when I awake with 

thy likeness.' And when he had said this he fell asleep." 

Not far from this, on Holly Path, is a Gothic 
tablet of marble, on the front of which is a shield 
bearing an appropriate inscription to the memory 
of Andrew S. March, who died Dec. 22, 1854, 
aged 43. 

Farther on, by the side of Violet Path, which 
leads toward the summit of Mount Dearborn from 
Red Oak Avenue, will be seen the monuments of 
Read Taft and Charles M. Taft. The former is 
of white marble, a tablet with sculpture at the 
top representing two angels kneeling before an 
urn. The latter is a massive sandstone pedestal, 
ornamented with scroll work and surmounted by 
an urn. 

Further up the hill, on Sweet-Brier Path, is the 
lot in which Gen. Dearborn is interred. On it 
is a handsome marble vase, bearing the name, 
"H. A. S. Dearborn," and on the base which sup- 
ports it is the inscription : 

" Erected by the workmen of Forest Hills Cemetery 
to commemorate his many virtues." 




THE DEAKBORN 3I0NUMENT. 



MONUMENTS. 117 

This inscription tells tlie story of the monument 
in a simple and appropriate manner, and the flow- 
ers with which the vase is supplied testify to the 
sincerity of the tribute. 

On the summit of the hill, but a few steps from 
this lot, is the Dearborn monument, erected by 
his friends and fellow-citizens. It is an elegant 
Corinthian column, of white marble, on a base 
which extends by scrolls on each side to smaller 
pedestals bearing funeral urns. The shaft is of 
convex flutings, the capital is elaborately and well 
wrought, and is surmounted by a funeral urn with 
flame. On the front of the base is a raised tablet 
inscribed as follows : 

" H. A. S. Dearborn, 

Obiit Julii 29, 1851, 

iEtat. 67." 

On the opposite side, in a panel, is the brief, but 
expressive Latin inscription, 

" Ossa in terra 

quam dilexit, coluit, ornavit, 

cives et amici moerentes 

condimus." 

The monument is appropriate to the character 
and tastes of him in whose honor it is erected. 
It is in a lovely spot, not only bearing his name, 
and near the burial-place of his kindred, but which 



118 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

was witli him a place of frequent resort while he 
was spared to watch the progress of the cemetery, 
As the most distinguished person whose re- 
mains were originally interred at Forest Hills, 
and as the designer of the cemetery, if not its 
originator, it is proper that Gen. Dearborn should 
receive more than a passing notice in these pages. 

General Dearborn was born in Exeter, New 
Hampshire, March 3d, 1783. Soon after, his pa- 
rents removed to Maine, where his boyhood was 
passed. At an early age he entered Williams' 
College, where he spent two years, and after- 
wards he entered William and Mary's College, 
in Virginia, where he was graduated in 1803. 
He pursued the study of the law for three years 
at the South, and subsequently for one year in the 
office of the late Judge Story. He practised law 
but a short time, the profession being distasteful 
to him, and he then entered the public service, in 
which, in some position, he continued for most of 
the time until his death. He was first appointed 
superintendent of the erection of forts in Portland 
harbor. Afterwards he held an office in the Bos- 
ton custom-house, where his father was collector ; 
and the latter having been appointed to the com- 
mand of the Northern Armj^, in the war of 1812, 
Gen. Dearborn succeeded him as collector. In 



5I0NUMENTS. 119 

this office lie remained until 1829, when he was 
removed. During the war of 1812 he was a Gen- 
eral of the Massachusetts militia, and had com- 
mand of the troops in Boston harbor. After his 
removal from the office of collector, he was rep- 
resentative, senator, and executive councillor in 
the State Government, a representative in Con- 
gress one term, and adjutant-general of Massachu- 
setts for a number of years. In 1847 he became 
Mayor of Roxbury, to which office he was four 
times re-elected, and held it at the time of his 
death. 

In all these various offices he established a rep- 
utation for patriotism, integrity and fidelity to his 
trust, and not even his political opponents ever 
questioned that he was an honest and high-minded 
man. 

Aside from his public offices, Gen. Dearborn 
occupied a prominent position, for many years, as 
a man of liberal views and public spirit, who en- 
listed zealously in the cause of those internal 
improvements which should develope the resources 
of the country. On these subjects he wrote and 
spoke often; and with sanguine hope and fore- 
sight he did not hesitate to utter his convictions 
or to propose the plans suggested by his compre- 
hensive mind. In the rural arts he was also 
deeply interested, and has by writing and work 



120 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

achieved mucli for their adyaucement. Agricul- 
ture and horticulture were subjects of study and 
of deep interest for him. In horticulture he was 
one of the pioneers in this country, having been 
one of the founders and the first president of the 
Massachusetts Horticultural Society. And it is to 
him, while connected with this society, that is due, 
in no small degree, the honor of securing the 
establishment of Mount Auburn, the first rural 
cemetery of the country. He wrote an able re- 
port in favor of establishing this cemetery in con- 
nection with an experimental garden of the Hor- 
ticultural Society, and it was through his warm 
interest in the measure, and zealous advocacy of 
it, that the Society engaged in the work and pur- 
chased the land. Nor did his labors cease there, 
for it was he who performed the chief part of the 
work of laying out the grounds. This work was 
truly congenial to his tastes, and he devoted him- 
self to it with unwearied energy and disinterested 
and enthusiastic love. The skill and taste with 
which he performed his task, is fully acknowl- 
edged in the admiration of those who have seen 
the beauties of that sacred ground ] it is itself, as 
has well been said, "a magnificent and beautiful 
monument to him — to his industry and taste, his 
affectionate reverence for the claims of the dead 
and the sorrows of the living." 



MONUMENTS. 121 

In the creation of Forest Hills, Gen. Dearborn 
performed a similar work. If not the originator 
of the project, he was one of its earliest and most 
zealous advocates. He was the leading petitioner 
to the city authorities of Roxbury for the estab- 
lishment of the cemetery ; and when, in the suc- 
ceeding municipal year, he became the chief 
magistrate of the city, he devoted himself to the 
task of securing the accomplishment of a measure 
which became a favorite one with him. 

When the committee who had the subject under 
consideration made explorations in the vicinity, 
in search of grounds suited to the purposes of a 
cemetery. Gen. Dearborn was foremost in the 
work, examining the various tracts which were 
proposed, with a keen eye to perceive their natu- 
ral beauties and their availabilities for the con- 
templated work. In visiting the tract which was 
finally selected for the cemetery, after glancing 
over its prominent features and considering its 
vicinity to the dense population for whose use the 
cemetery was intended, he said, at once, that this 
was the place. Further examination satisfied him 
that he had not judged too hastily ; and whatever 
may have been the opinion, at that time, of those 
less skilled in detecting the picturesque and beau- 
tiful in nature, and less experienced in the art of 
developing these elements, time has shown how 



122 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

correct was his judgment; how admirable his 
taste. 

Upon the work of laying out these grounds he 
entered with as ardent a zeal as he had before 
given to similar labors at Mount Auburn ; and he 
devoted himself to it with a deeper and more sol- 
emn and reverent love, and with an ever-present 
sense of the sacredness of the place and of his 
task. With his own hand he marked out the 
winding avenues and shaded paths, observing how 
each should reveal some beauty while making 
available the gentle slopes or the rugged steeps 
as resting places for the dead. With his own 
hand he reared the rustic structure over the foun- 
tain, and planted there the lichens and creepers 
which cover it ; and his reverent mind selected 
the scripture text with which it utters a divine 
lesson to those who linger near the spot. He 
modeled the imposing gateway at the principal 
entrance ; he projected the chief adornments, and 
in a word, he stamped his own idea upon the 
cemetery in all the varied forms with which art 
has developed and increased the beauties of na- 
ture. And it was all a disinterested and unselfish 
labor on his part, prompted by a love of nature, 
an untiring industry, and a pious regard for the 
claims^ of the dead. Hardly was there a sign 
that he even desired to associate his name so 



MONUMENTS. 123 

intimately with the sacred shades of Forest Hills 
or of Mount Auburn, though such an ambition 
were no unworthy one. But he labored rather 
for the love of his work, for the honor of the dead 
and the solace of the living. 

Gen. Dearborn was a man of remarkable indus- 
try, and his time, not devoted to the labors of his 
office, was spent in acquiring or communicating 
information. His studies were varied and exten- 
sive, and there were few subjects to which he had 
not given some attention. The extent of his stu- 
dies and his industry are shown by the numerous 
volumes of manuscript on a great variety of sub- 
jects, which he has left, besides several volumes 
of published works, a great many contributions 
to periodicals, official reports and other printed 
documents. The contents of these numerous 
papers show the extent of his research and his 
information. As he was no mere student, but 
gave much time, not only to official duties, but to 
the various subjects of public interest which en- 
gaged his attention, these private labors are the 
more remarkable. 

In his intercourse with others he was exceed- 
ingly courteous, and the dignity of his presence 
made his courtesy and kindly manners the more 
striking. His conversation was agreeable and 
instructive ; and perfectly at home on almost any 



124 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

subject, he was ever ready, with illustrations or 
valuable information^ to develope it or add to its 
interest. 

In the reverses of fortune which overtook him, 
he was unchanged, unless it were that his gener- 
ous nature became still more kindly. Exhibiting 
the same characteristics of dignity and courtesy, 
he seemed to have no regret for the change ex- 
cept that his means of contributing to the enjoy- 
ment and happiness of others were diminished. 
He still had those unfailing resources for his own 
enjoyment; he delighted in study, and found a 
still deeper pleasure in the beauties of nature. 
That which was wealth to him he still possessed, 
the unlimited treasures of knowledge, from which 
he was ever gathering some new store, and the 
works of God, which he ever delighted to con- 
template. 

The loss of Gen. Dearborn was deeply deplor- 
ed by a wide circle of friends, and his associates 
in public and official life. The records of many a 
society with which he was connected bear resolu- 
tions of respect for his memory and gratitude for 
his services. His burial took place in a very pri- 
vate manner ; but subsequently, at the request of 
the city authorities of Roxbury, a discourse on his 
life and character was delivered by Rev. George 
Putnam, D. D., in which an eloquent and discrim- 



MONUMENTS. 125 

inating tribute is paid to his virtues and liis 
worth. 

His remains repose in the spot selected by him- 
self, and amid the scenes where he had passed so 
many hours and had so lovingly labored to create 
a garden for the dead. There is no lovelier spot 
in all these grounds, and as we stand by his grave 
and look around at the result of his tasteful, 
devoted labors, along those avenues and paths 
whose borders are so beautiful, and into those 
solemn shades now so consecrated by sacred 
memories, we may reverently bless his name for 
this his good work. 

"Surely the man who, more than any other 
man, has taken a leading and efficient part in 
changing a people's whole system of burial, in 
redeeming the waste places of death, in surround- 
ing the very grave with nature's choicest adorn- 
ments, and investing the dreary sepulchre with 
the scenes and objects that are fraught with the 
most soothing and elevating associations, and has 
directed the steps of the living multitudes of 
cities and villages to the abodes of the dead, as 
the quietest shades and the loveliest resorts, 
where the most inviting aspects of nature and the 
most exquisite arrangements of taste blend in 
sweet harmony with all tender and solemn 
thoughts — surely this man has done a great 



126 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

work. Surely he has made a broad mark on the 
face of the earth, and upon the hearts of men. 
Surely he deserves that grateful and honoring 
thoughts should gather round his grave, and that 
his name should be held in long and kind remem- 
brance. Every lover of the beautiful owes him 
something. Every mortal man, who ever sends 
forward a thought to the spot where he is to be 
laid, and finds soothing in its verdure and peace- 
fulness, owes him something. Every bereaved 
one, who follows his beloved dead along those 
green and winding aisles of nature, and lays down 
his remains, and revisits them with oft-returning 
footsteps, to weep and to pray by them, lying 
there as in the very bosom of the loving God of 
nature, owes him something — some tribute o 
tender and thankful recollection." "^ 

On the southern declivity of Mount Dearborn, 
in the lot of William Cumston, is the statue of a 
child, standing in an attitude of attention, with 
eyes raised, as if listening to a call from above, 
and his arms crossed in resignation on his breast. 
The drapery is simple and well arranged, and, 
altogether, the statue is an appropriate piece of 
sculpture for the cemetery. 

* Rev. Dr. Putnam's Address, Sept. 3, 1851. 



MONUMENTS. 127 

Between Mount Dearborn and the Eliot Hills 
there are a number of monuments which will at- 
tract the attention of the visitor. On Red Oak 
Avenue is a large Gothic tablet, of sandstone, 
inscribed with a number of names of the Willard 
family. On the front is the following : " Simon 
Willard, born in Grafton, Mass., April 3, 1753; 
settled in this city 1773, and died Aug. 30, 1848, 
aged 95 years, 4 months, 27 days." This name 
will be recognized as that of the well-known 
clock-maker. On Willow Avenue will be seen a 
plain marble obelisk bearing the name of Dudley; 
an obelisk with Egyptian monuments in the lot of 
George Miller; in that of Charles Hickling a slab 
on which is wrought a small basso-relievo of a 
sleeping child ; and at the corner of Willow and 
White Oak avenues a plain square pedestal sur- 
mounted by a vase, the pedestal inscribed " Na- 
thaniel Dorr, born March 22, 1779, died Nov. 8, 
1850." 

On Narcissus Path is a white marble pedestal, 
with an urn, bearing the name of J. Barry ; and 
on the lot of C. Whitmorc, a massive pedestal 
with the broken shaft of a column. On one side 
of the pedestal is a harp with severed strings, and 
the other faces bear inscriptions. 

On White Oak Avenue, near its junction with 
Red Oak, in the lot of J. B. Learock is an obelisk. 



128 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

on the front of wliicli is a representation^ in relief, 
of a female bowed in grief. Further towards 
Eliot Hills, in the lot of Eliza Dudley; is a beau- 
tiful little statuette of a child asleep, with its 
head resting on a lamb. The pedestal is inscrib- 
ed " Our little Frank." It is a fitting monument 
for the grave of a child. Still further on is a 
handsome plain pedestal surmounted by an urn, 
in the lot of J. G. Bachelder. 

On Eliot Hills are a number of noticeable mon- 
uments. Beginning on the northern side, at the 
foot of the hill, on Clementis Path will be seen 
a gray sandstone monument, near the cemetery 
boundary, bearing the name of Badger; it has 
scroll-work shields, and is surmounted by a cross. 
On White Oak Avenue, which winds around the 
eastern and southern sides of the hill, in the lot 
of Charles Blake, is a slab on which is a repre- 
sentation, in relief, of an angel bearing away a 
child, and the simple inscription, "Our darling 
Eddie." A granite obelisk stands on the lot of 
J. S. Emerson J near by, a marble pedestal, on 
which is an urn, bears the name of James Vila.- 
Farther on, in the lot of George Gregerson, is a 
large ornamented scroll, inscribed with the name 
of Dr. J. B. Gregerson, who died at Boston, Sept. 
5, 1854, aged 46 years 15 days. 



MONUMENTS. 129 

Near this is a fine piece of sculpture, in the lot 
of N. P. Lovering, one of the most beautiful mon- 
uments in the cemetery. It is the statue of a 
child reclining as if asleep, its head resting upon 
one arm. The expression of the face is very 
gweet, and the posture easy and natural. It was 
executed in Italy, and is such a piece of work as 
too seldom adorns our burial places. On the base 
are the words, " She is not dead, but sleepeth." 
The monument is erected over the grave of a 
beloved child, and constantly there are offerings 
laid there of fresh and beautiful flowers. 

On Hawthorn Path, which leads up the hillside, 
is an obelisk in the lot of A. Cunningham ; and 
further on, in the lot of Samuel Wadsworth, four 
little head-stones over the graves of children tell 
a touching story. Each has four rose-buds, in re- 
lief; the first with one broken bud, and three still 
on the stem — and so each succeeding one with 
an additional broken bud, until they all are sever- 
ed. Near by, on Jasmine Path, in the lot of Wil- 
liam Barry, is a scroll ornamented with roses and 
inscribed, "My beloved wife," and a marble vase 
containing flowering plants. On Eliot Hills Path, 
the monument of Caleb Parker is a plain Egyp- 
tian pedestal ; and near that is a handsome mar- 
ble obelisk without a name. 

On Green Brier Path is a handsome obelisk 



130 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

bearing the name of Litchfield, near which is the 
lot of Daniel Brims, containing a large and hand- 
some obelisk of white marble. At the back of the 
lot English ivy thickly covers a steep and high 
rock. On the same path, near the summit of the 
hill, is a lot which bears the name of Weeks, in 
which is another appropriate monument over the 
grave of childhood. On a handsome pedestal is 
a small piece of sculpture representing a child 
reclining, with flowers in her hand and a lamb by 
her side — a beautiful design and well executed. 
The pedestal is inscribed, " Little Emma," follow- 
ing which are the words of the Saviour, " Suffer 
little children to come unto me, and forbid them 
not; for of such is the kingdom of Heaven." 

On Wabon Path is an elegant monument, which, 
on account of its position, being raised above the 
lots on White Oak Avenue by a walled terrace, 
attracts the eye at some distance. It is in the 
lot of Samuel Guild, and bears simply the name 
in deeply-cut letters. It is a white marble sarco- 
phagus with a wreath of ivy on the top, and oak 
leaves bending over the verge. On the same lot 
is a scroll bearing the name of Samuel Guild, Jr. 

On Nesutan Avenue, as it winds up the hill, 
will be observed three tablets erected on one 
base, the centre one bearing a statuette of a child. 
Each of the tablets bears an inscription. Three 



MONUMENTS. 131 

graves are enclosed with marble scroll-work, and 
are covered with flowers. Opposite this is the 
plain monument of J. A. White; and not far dis- 
tant, on Mayflower Path, is an obelisk bearing 
the name of Guild. 

The grounds southeast of Eliot Hills, rising 
gradually towards the terrace mentioned in an- 
other place, are interesting and beautiful in the 
numerous monuments which are there erected, as 
well as in the neatness and garden-like appear- 
ance which they exhibit. Most of these monu- 
ments are simple and unostentatious, though a 
few possess more elaborate attractions. 

On White Oak Avenue, near Eliot Hills, is a 
gray sandstone Gothic monument bearing the 
name of Curtis. Near this are two marble obe- 
lisks, one bearing the name of Gwynne, and the 
other, which rests on a large marble base, bears 
the name of Leman encircled by a wreath of oak 
leaves and acorns. Further on, towards the Walk 
Hill entrance, in a small triangular lot is the fig- 
ure of a Newfoundland dog, well executed in red 
sandstone. He lies as if watching. On the base 
is the name of Barnard. 

On Aster Path, in the lot of Nathaniel Brewer, 
are some of those little emblematic pieces of 
sculpture which are quite frequent in the ceme- 



132 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

tery — a lamb, and a dove with open wings ; the 
one at the head and the other at the foot of a 
grave, which is enclosed by marble scroll-work 
and covered with flowers. On the same path is 
an arched tablet crowned with flowers, bearing 
the name of Warren Thayer. Near this is a mar- 
ble sarcophagus, noticeable for its entire freedom 
from ornament. It is inscribed, " My Husband." 
"Charles Cunningham, died Oct. 9, 1852, aged 72 
years." Further on are two obelisks, one on the 
lot of Foster, and the other inscribed with the 
name of Capt. William Drew, a shipmaster. 

On Hyacinth Path are two simple monuments ; 
one, in the lot of Henry Bursley, is a marble block 
bearing a scroll and a wreath of flowers, and the 
other a plain Gothic tablet ornamented with a 
wreath of olive leaves, in the lot bearing the 
name of Partridge. 

A shield, of white marble, surrounded with a 
richly-wrought wreath of ivy leaves and an open 
lily, will attract the attention on Eglantine Path. 
It bears the name of Montague, and it will be 
noticed as one of the prettiest of this neat and 
unpretending style of monuments. In lots on 
Anemone Path are several iron vases containing 
flowering plants. 

On White Pine Avenue is a handsome monu- 
ment bearing the name of Ripley — a base orna- 



MONUMENTS. 133 

mented with a wreath of flowers, and an octagonal 
shaft with corded angles siirmoimted by an urn. 
Not far distant, in the lot of F. B. Wentworth, is 
a simple draped block, on which lie two closed 
volumes. In the lot of S. A. Way is a pointed 
Gothic monument of white marble, in the front of 
which is a niche containing an urn of Italian mar- 
ble. On the same avenue will be observed seve- 
ral other more simple monuments. 

On Geranium Path, in the lot of David Loring, 
arc two monumental scrolls, on one of which is a 
closed volume, and on the other a broken flower. 
A plain pedestal and urn ornaments the lot of 
Hastings. Conspicuous on this path is the monu- 
ment of Kilby Page, a massive Egyptian base, with 
panels, supporting an obelisk. It is of granite, 
finely wrought, and is a handsome monument. 
Not far distant, on a lot bearing the name of 
Clark, is a sandstone monument with elaborate 
Gothic ornaments. The finial is surmounted by a 
dove. In the same lot two neat scrolls are in- 
scribed with the names of children. 

At the corner of Hemlock and Cherry avenues, 
in the lot of John H. Gray, is a large marble 
shield ornamented with scroll-work, leaves and 
poppy-flowers, and there is also a scroll on which 
lies a wreath of roses, in marble. Farther west- 
ward, on Cherry Avenue, is a massive granite 

M 



134 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

obelisk, bearing the name of Thomas Sinclair. It 
is a plain but elegant monument, finely wrought. 
On the same avenue, in the lot of S. S. Lewis, is 
a monument which will not fail to attract the eye. 
It is a large tablet resting on a base with scrolls, 
at the head of three graves enclosed with marble 
slabs. On the upper part of the tablet are three 
cherubs, in alto-relievo, reading a scroll inscribed 
with the names of three children, who are there 
buried, and it is surmounted with a vase of sculp- 
tured flowers. At the foot of the graves are an 
urn and two lambs, and within the marble border 
a profusion of flowers. 

Still further towards the Walk Hill entrance is 
a handsome marble monument, consisting of an 
octagonal shaft resting on a base with arched 
faces. On the front side of the base is the fol- 
lowing inscription : 

" Alfred T. Minot, 

A native of Westford ; a citizen of Boston, 

And a member of its Government. 

Born Feb. 22, 1819. Died Aug. 16, 1853. 

He to life's noblest ends 

Gave up life's noblest powers." 

The other sides of the base have the following 
tribute to his worth : 

'•'This marble speaks of one, who, during a short but 
active life, acquired, in no ordinary measure, the regard and 



MONUMENTS. 135 

confidence of a community of which he was an ornament 
and benefactor. 

"With an intellect clear, cultivated and comprehensive, 
he joined the still nobler properties of a feeling and generous 
disposition. Indeed, in him were combined in a rare degree 
those mental, moral and religious qualities of character 
which invite the love and command the respect of society. 

"But in the seeming noontide of his existence and full 
maturity of his powers, he Avas suddenly summoned from 
the scenes of earth, to receive, as we trust, his reward in 
heaven. 

" Municipal and social records bear witness to the sound- 
ness of his judgment and the wisdom of his counsel ; while 
the hearts of his lamenting friends are indeliljly engraven 
with recollections of his personal virtues. 

" To his memory, so dearly and justly cherished, many 
persons, not of his family or kindred, have united to set up 
this public testimonial of their affection and sorrow.'' 

" Abiit non ohiit^^ is tlie brief and hopeful 
epitaph on a little cross over a child's grave, on 
Crysanthemum Path. On this path, in the lot of 
George H. Everson, is another piece of sculpture, 
which will attract the attention of the visitor. It 
represents a child reclining, as if asleep, on a 
quiver of arrows, while one hand grasps a bow. 
The figure rests on a handsome pedestal, which 
bears an inscription. The monument of Simeon 
Palmer, a little further on, is a plain marble 
pedestal surmounted by an urn and resting on a 
heavy granite base. The lot of Barney Cory 



136 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

contains one of tliose appropriate monumental 
scrolls, with a lamb resting on it, inscribed, 

"Our little Fanny." 

" One less to love on earth ; 

One more to meet in Heaven." 

In the lot of Torrey and Tilden, on this path, 
is a large marble slab, supported on ballusters. 

On Althea Path, which extends eastward from 
Hemlock Avenue below the terrace wall, is a Nor- 
man arched monument of white marble. In the 
arch is an urn. The monument bears the inscrip- 
tion, " Our Mother and our Brother." 

Nearly opposite this is a monument in memory 
of Manlius Stimson Clarke. It is a Gothic tablet 
of white marble, surmounted by a cross, and bears 
the following inscription : 

" ' i/e giveth His beloved sleep. ^ 

Manlius Stimson Clarke 

Was born at Norton Oct. 17, 1816. 

Was graduated at Harvard College, 1837, 

and died in Boston April 27, 1853. 

" A sound lawyer, a public-spirited citizen, a wise friend 

of the young, a tender husband and father, a consistent 

Christian believer. 

"This stone is raised by a few of his companions who 
loved him for his social virtues, admired his actions, and 
honor his memory." 

This epitaph is alike comprehensive and truth- 



MONUMENTS. 137 

ful in its brief simplicity ; a fitting tribute to tlie 
memory of an excellent man, who at a compara- 
tively early age was called away from a life of 
usefulness. 

Passing round to the top of Fountain Hill, near 
the Commissioners' office, on Cherry Avenue, will 
be observed a monument of red sandstone, an 
obelisk resting on a heavy pedestal. The in- 
scriptions are in gilded letters. 

Next to this is the large and handsome monu- 
ment of Nathaniel Snow. It consists of a pedes- 
tal and shaft elaborately finished. On each side 
of the pedestal are shields of scroll-work, and at 
each corner an inverted torch. The shaft is oc- 
tagonal, with Gothic panels and rich Gothic orna- 
ments at the base. It is surmounted b}^ an urn 
wreathed with flowers. A little farther on, is a 
plain pedestal bearing a vase, in the lot of Horace 
Bacon. It is inscribed "Horace Bacon died Aus*. 
14, 1850, aged 49 years. ^ Thou hast been faith- 
ful over a few things.'' " A marble obelisk orna- 
mented with a wreath of flowers and a broken 
harp, bears the name of Charles Copcland. 

On the opposite side of the avenue, in the lot 
of Austin Sumner, is a large architectural tablet, 
of red sandstone. In the front panel is a star 
surrounded by a heavy and richly- wrought wreath 



138 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

of flowers. Yine leaves and flowers extend around 
the frieze, above which is a pediment ornamented 
with a wreath of olive branches. The monument 
of R. H. C. Merry is a handsome marble pedestal 
and ornamented obelisk, with a flower-wreathed 
urn. 

Next to the last is the monument of John D. 
"Williams, the highly respected merchant of Bos- 
ton. It is a simple and plain stone, somewhat 
similar to one which he erected in the Eustis 
street cemetery, in Roxbury, and in accordance 
with his known wishes and taste. It consists of 
a pedestal and obelisk, the latter having on its 
front a vase of flowers, in relief, and a shield on 
the pedestal bearing the following simple inscrip- 
tion: 

" John Davis "Williams, 

Died August 23, 1848, aged 78 years. 

His wife Hannah, 

Died Feb. 11, 1824, aged 49 years." 

Nearly opposite is the elegant monument of 
Jonathan French. It is of white marble, and is 
highly finished with Gothic ornaments. The pe- 
destal has a richly-sculptured cornice, and in front 
is a shield with scroll-work, at the bottom of 
which are branches of oak with leaves and acorns ; 
at the corners are inverted torches. On the 
pedestal rests an arched tablet or block; with 



MONUMENTS. 139 

Gothic panels and crockctts. It is surmounted 
by an urn, draped and wreathed with flowers. 
The whole is elaborately and elegantly wrought, 
and the monument is one of the finest in the 
cemetery. 

At the junction of Cherry and Hemlock ave- 
nues is a small, but handsome tablet, bearing the 
name of Stevens. Passing next to White Pine 
Avenue, east of Hemlock, a large Gothic tablet, 
inscribed " Wentworth," will be noticed as a neat 
monument. Further on, are several plain obe- 
lisks, severally bearing the names of Humphrey, 
Kettell, and Whitaker, and the turretted Gothic 
monument of gray sandstone in the lot of A. J. 
Dean. 

Near the eastern end of Bellflowcr Path is an 
Egyptian pedestal inscribed with the name of Ma- 
comber. On Bellflower Path are, a small marble 
monument in the lot of Eliza Powars ; an Egyp- 
tian pedestal and obelisk bearing the name of 
Joseph Jenkins ; a handsome Gothic tablet of gray 
sandstone, with a wreath of flowers enclosing the 
words "Our Sister," in the lot of G. A. Chapinj 
a high pedestal with an arched cornice surmount- 
ed by an urn, with oak leaves and broken harp, in 
relief, and inscribed with the name of Eastman. 
At the junction of this lot with Hemlock Avenue, 
is a handsome monument in the lot of Edward 



140 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

Perkins — a pedestal, on wliicli is a shaft orna- 
mented with a richly-sculptured wreath, and sur- 
mounted by a handsome urn, inscribed " Sophia." 

On Aspem Avenue are several obelisks. That 
of I. D, Richards is surmounted by a vase j those 
of Joseph Byron and William Hunter are plain. 
On the same avenue, in the lot of G. W. Smith, is 
a scroll, on which are wrought, in high relief, a 
winged head and a lamb. Near the last, on White 
Oak Avenue, is an arched tablet ornamented with 
vine leaves and a broken chain. 

On Fountain Avenue, nearly midway between 
Lake Hibiscus and the Field of Machpelah, is a 
beautiful monument. On a handsome marble pe- 
destal is a small statue of a female weeping over 
an urn wreathed with flowers, and beside which 
lies a funeral torch. The posture of the figure 
and the expression are very good and the work 
is well executed. On the pedestal are graven 
the words, "My Husband and Child." It was 
erected by Mrs. J. L. Loveland. 

In thus passing over the grounds to point out 
the monuments, some quite worthy of notice may 
have been omitted j and there are many appro- 
priate little stones, ornamented with pretty de- 
vices or surrounded with flowers, which will be 
observed by those who pay more than a passing 



MONUMENTS. 141 

visit to the grounds, but wliicli could not all be 
enumerated in these pages. 

This chapter is scarcely more than a catalogue 
of some of the more noticeable monuments, and 
might, perhaps, have been more interesting if it 
contained the names and epitaphs on all the 
stones. But those records were better read on 
the monuments themselves, by such as feel an in- 
terest in them, than made public in a volume ; and 
we preferred that these pages should lack inter- 
est rather than to tr spass upon private sorrows. 



^pitagljs. 



A MAJORITY of the inscriptions on the monu- 
ments at Forest Hills contain simply the names, 
with the date of birth and death ; but there are 
also numerous epitaphs which are beautiful, touch- 
ing and impressive when read from the stones on 
which they are inscribed. To have recorded 
them with the names, as each monument was de- 
scribed or mentioned, would have been overstep- 
ping the limits prescribed in the last chapter. 
There are some lines or sentiments which might, 
perhaps, appear more appropriate, were the entire 
inscription given, but there are many which need 
not the coupling of a name to show their fitness 
or to make them interesting; and since, for the 
most part, the names must be as those of stran- 
gers to the reader, it is neither necessary nor 
desirable to array them in this connection. A 
number of these epitaphs, without names, (which 



EPITAPHS. 143 

in some cases, indeed, are not inscribed on the 
stones,) collected at random from various parts 
of tlie cemetery, are here given ; and it may be 
remarked that, while some of them are peculiarly 
apt in language and sentiment, there are others 
which are to be regarded without criticism, and 
rather for the feelings which they express than 
for the elegance or fitness of the language. 

Prominent among such epitaphs are the terms 
of endearment with which the dead were greeted 
while living — the names, so familiar and so be- 
loved, which have at last come to be fixed on the 
'^ dull, cold marble," over the graves of those to 
whom they were given. In many cases these 
names stand alone, epitaphs touching the heart 
even of the stranger, and more dear and deeply 
affecting to the bereaved than all other words 
beside. Such are the following, which, with simi- 
lar inscriptions, may be found scattered over the 
grounds : 

"Father;" " Our Mother;" "Our Sister;" "Our 
Brother;" " Our Boy;" " Our lovely Child;" " My 
beloved Wife ;" "My Husband;" "Angel Ella;" 
"Carrie;" "Our little Fanny;" "Our darling 
May;" "Dannie;" "Dear Willie;" "Our little 
Frank;" "Little Emma;" "Little Helen;" "Our 
little Herbert;" "Little Clftra." 



144 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

Lines descriptive of a serene and peaceful death 
may be found on some monuments, sucli as these : 

"She slept — but not kind Nature's balmy sleep, 
Friendship could only hope, and doubt, and weep. 
Vain was the hope, the flickering vital power 
Was slowly wasting with the wasting hour. 
Her lids unclosed. She breathed no vocal sound. 
But fondly gazed on those who wept around. 
And each in silence calmly, sweetly blessed. 
Then gently closed her eyes and sunk to rest. 
Loved spirit ! while on earth thy friends remain, 
Nature forbids that we should meet again ; 
But ah, how blest their longing souls will be, 
"Who pass through deaths like thine to heaven and thee ! " 

"She took the cup of life to sip. 
Too bitter 'twas to drain ; 
She meekly put it from her lip 
And went to sleep again." 

" The mother gave her infant life and breath, 
Then calmly yielded to a blissful death ; 
Soon followed her the babe, as if to share 
A sainted mother's fostering love and care. 
Together here their mouldering relics rest. 
Their glorious spirits are together blest." 

Words expressive of the fond remembrance in 
which the lost are held by the mourner, are en- 
graved on many stones. 

" blest are they who live and die like thee. 
Loved with such love, and with such sorrow mourned." 



EPITAPHS. 145 

"She lives in every thought, 
In every dream she smiles again 
And speaks a blessing to the heart." 

*' Fragrant and forever dear shall her memory be." 

" Thou art gone, — still thy memory is dear." 

" Iler children rise up and call her blessed." 



"Beloved by all, many are the hearts that mourn her 
absence." 

Still more frequent are those words which are 
the utterances of Faith and Hope, looking beyond 
the grave to an immortal life : 

" She is not dead, but sleepeth." 
" Not lost, but gone before." 

' ' Calm on the bosom of thy God , 

Young spirit ! rest thee now ! 
Ev'n while with us thy footsteps trod, 

His seal was on thy brow. 
Lone are the paths and sad the bowers, 

Whence thy meek smile is gone ; 
But ! a brighter home than ours, 

In heaven, is now thine own." 

" Immortal Hope dispels our gloom, 
An angel sits beside the tomb." 
N 



146 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

" Yet while mourning, ! our lost one, 
Come no visions of despair, 
Seated on thy tomb. Faith's angel 
Saith thou art not — art not there." 

" Farewell ! we meet in Heaven." 

" Abiit, non Obiit." 

" In realms of bliss above. 
By guardian angels led, 
Safe in the arms of love 

She lives, whom we call dead." 

*' Divided but for a time." 

" We have left an earthly for a heavenly home.' 

" Returned unto God." 

"Husband! Father! 
Thou art gone before us ; 
Yet after the night of Death, 
Comes the day of eternal life ; 
Then ! we shall meet again." 

" We '11 meet again, are words that cheer 

While bending o'er the tomb ; 
And ! that hope, so bright and clear. 

Can pierce its deepest gloom. 
For in the mansions of the blest. 

Secure from care and pain. 
In Heaven's serene and endless rest 

We '11 surely meet again." 



EPITAPHS. 14T 

" Sleep, loved one, sleep ! 0, may that star, 
That lights the deepest gloom, 
Conduct thee through the cheerless vale, 
To joys beyond the tomb." 

" The sleeping dust shall rest in hopes." 

" I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me." 

" We shall meet again." 

" He who lent thee hath recalled thee 
Back, with Him and His to dwell." 

" Rest, angel, rest ! 
Await th' Almighty will, 

Then rise from earth, 
And be an angel still." 

" She was lovely on earth — 
She is an angel in Heaven." 

" Lie down in peace to take thy rest ! 
Dear cherished form I no longer mine, 
But bearing in thy clay-cold breast 
A hidden germ of life divine ; 
"Which, when the eternal sj)ring shall bloom. 
Will burst the shackles of the tomb." 

Other inscriptions arc of a more religious 
character, such as : 

" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 

" Blessed arc the dead that die in the Lord." 



148 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

*' Our Father who art in Heaven." 

*' Faithful unto death." 

" Now we see as through a glass, darkly." 

" I know that my Redeemer liveth," 

" With thy Saviour we leave thee." 

" My soul waiteth for the Lord." 

" Take them, Father ! in immortal trust." 

" Her record is in Heaven.^' 

The quiet of the grave is expressed in some of 
the epitaphs : 

" He giveth his beloved sleep." 

" Lie down in peace to take thy rest." 

" Requiescat in pace." 

The rest beyond the tomb is more often spo- 
ken of: 

"There is rest in Heaven." 

" At rest with God." 

— (Over the grave of an aged person.) 

"There remaineth a Rest." 

" Thou the Christian's path hast trod, 
Dearest Mother, — rest with God." 

" Return unto thy rest, my soul." 



EPITAPHS. 149 

The most expressive epitaphs are over the 
graves of children^ and to the stranger always 
the most touching. There is something about the 
grave of childhood, with the bereaved love which 
mourns there, that appeals to the sympathy and 
to the better feelings of the heart, more strongly 
than anywhere else. 

On many stones are simply the familiar names 
by which the lost were known while living, as 
instanced above. Such inscriptions seem most 
appropriate for children. Some others of the 
foregoing epitaphs are also found over the graves 
of children. 

On a number of stones are inscribed the words 
of the Saviour : 

" Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them 
not ; for of such is the kingdom of Heaven ;" 

and the words 

'< She is not dead, but sleepeth," 

are also found in several instances. Among many 
other inscriptions over such graves are the fol- 
lowing : 

" Little Henry sleeps." 

As the sweet flower that scents the morn 

But withers in the rising day, 
Thus lovely was this infant's da^vn. 

Thus swiftly fled its life away." 



"■o 



150 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

" It is well with the child." 

" A little bud plucked from earth to bloom in Heaven." 

"Sweet harbingers to Heaven." 

" A child whom we have loved has gone to Heaven, — 
And by this gate of flowers she passed away." 

" One less to love on earth, 
One more to meet in Heaven." 

" A little spirit wafted home 
To dwell among the blest ; 
His last, his dying words were heard — 
a do love God the best.' " 

# " A bud of beauty nipped by death — 
no ! upborne to milder skies, 
Where no rude wind with icy breath 
May blight a flower of Paradise." 

Among the inscriptions of a different character 
are the following : 

" While sleeping, his spirit sought its home in Heaven." 

" A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches." 

" The memory of the just is blessed." 

" The world can never give 

The bliss for which we sigh ; 
'T is not the who^e of life to live, 
Nor all of death to die." 



EPITAPHS. 151 

To the foregoing epitaphs many others might 
be added, were it intended to give a complete 
collection of them. Possibly, some of peculiar 
fitness and beauty may have been passed by, and 
those which have been copied were not, indeed, 
selected, but, as before observed, were taken at 
random, as examples of the ordinary inscriptions 
of this class which are found in the cemetery. 
Although some of them, especially the briefer 
ones, are appropriate and touching as read under 
the shades of the cemetery, yet it is to be wished 
that some of the verses which are found upon the 
memorial stones were taken from the poets, who 
have expressed their solemn thoughts in more fit- 
ting language. 



'§,tkm at Jfflwst Sills. 



" Leaves have their time to fall, 
And flowers to wither at the north-wind's breath, 

And stars to set — but all, 
Thou hast all seasons for thine own, O ! Death ! " 

All seasons at the cemetery are beautiful and 
full of sacred teachings. Each has some peculiar 
charm which leads the mind to tender associations 
and to high and solemn thought. Every where 
nature has myriad voices for those who will lis- 
ten, and pictures whose soft and varied tints have 
each some beautiful lesson for those who will 
study; but in the Garden of the Dead its utter- 
ances are more distinct, its music more touching, 
its beauties nearer and lovelier. Divested in 
some degree by the associations of the place from 
the cares and follies, the joys and sorrows of the 
world, the mind is open to more delicate percep- 
tions and to more gentle and holy thought. 



REVERIES. 153 

Spring has spread its charms over Forest Hills. 
With the warm south wind the soft notes of the 
birds have come. The black birch has hung out 
its pendulous blossoms, the maple is crowned 
with its scarlet flowers, the oak and the walnut 
are opening their waxen buds, and light green fo- 
liage with delicate spray clothes here and there 
the underwood. On the sunny slopes and in the 
sheltered nooks of the rugged rocks the violet 
lifts its blue petals to the light, and in the borders 
or on the cherished grave the crocus or hyacinth 
has succeeded the snowdrop. The turf has grown 
green on the resting-places of the dead, on the 
hill-sides and in the valleys. Nature is awaking 
from its long sleep to a new and beautiful life. 
And here, where the dead slumber, how does this 
resurrection of natural life speak to the soul, of 
that higher resurrection which is intimated in its 
own longings and promised in the Divine word. 

The blossoms fall and the tender bud is blight- 
ed. Flowers more beautiful than the richly-tinted 
children of nature have been brought hither, and 
laid down in their little graves by bereaved pa- 
rents, for whom, in their grief, there are no other 
blossoms in the world, no music, nor sunshine; — 
flowers which were tended with devoted care and 
watched with the gentlest love j whose growing 
beauties were an unceasing delight, and in whose 



154 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

hearts were treasures tliat shed a precious per- 
fume. They were angels in the household, and 
had lit up their homes with innocent happiness 
and sunny hopes. Around their sweet spring- 
time had clustered the promises of a beautiful 
summer. But it ripened not on earth; ere its 
first soft bloom had departed it was ended, 

" — gone, as the dew-drop is swept from the bough." 

Their homes were darkened. The joys and hopes 
which had centred in them, born of earth, were 
doomed to disappointment and death. The cher- 
ished blossoms have been laid down to decay. 
While the spring in its growing beauty is full of 
mementos of these beloved flowers, they have 
been brought hither and laid away forever. The 
trees with delicate buds are bending over them ; 
votive plants are springing on their graves ; Na- 
ture is putting on a garment of hopeful loveliness 
— all types of their earthly life, of their immortal 
destiny. The spring-time ended here, is begun, 
beyond the flowery portal, in perfect beauty — 
" for of such is the kingdom of heaven." The new 
spring, the new flowers teach the lesson. 

With how much care and deep devotion the 
tender plants upon those little graves are cher- 
ished ! As if they were the kindred of the depart- 
ed blossomS; or as if the dead below could behold 



REVERIES. 155 

their beauty. With oft-returning footsteps has 
the mother come up hither to watch, and care for, 
and guard those votive flowers, more beautiful 
over such graves than the sculptured marble ; and 
some little blossom or leaf has been carried 
away, a treasure which awakens sad and holy 
memories, and calls forth tears, and step by step 
leads up through better thoughts and hopes to 
Heaven. Behold, too, how she has brought hither 
a bouquet of rare and beautiful flowers, to adorn 
this spot, dearer to her than all the earth beside ; 
and ere their perfume has wasted or their petals 
all faded, again and again, with unforgetting love, 
does she come to renew the offering. 

Does this little grave take the place of her 
beautiful child in her heart ? Not that ,* but the 
memories which cluster around it, the hopes which 
there spring up, these are the tenants of that 
chamber which once held the beloved child. To 
this spot, the end of that brief day's journey, she 
followed the lifeless form ; and here, where she 
took her last gaze, is it not meet that it should 
be a hallowed spot ? Lo, on the tablet is engrav- 
ed, " She is not dead, but sleepeth." They who 
with trustful hearts inscribe such words over the 
departed, cherish something more and better than 
the dust which is buried there, or the flowers 
that bloom above it. They bring earth's bios- 



156 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

soms to the grave, but in their hearts they twine 
immortelles. 

The buds and blossoms of May have ripened to 
the more perfect beauty of leafy June. The tall 
old trees are clothed in their drapery of thick 
foliage, and the tender spray of their humbler 
companions waves long and bright in the soft 
wind. The wild strawberry ripens where the 
violet has bloomed ; the laurel and rhododendron 
unfold the scales of their large buds ; the rose and 
the lily and the varied blossoms of vines and flow- 
ering annuals cluster about the graves and in the 
borders. Up among the leafy boughs the birds 
are rearing their happy broods, unmindful of the 
sleepers below, and their soft notes are heard 
above the rustling of the leaves. The more joy- 
ous songsters are away in the waving fields, or 
the orchards about the dwellings of the living. 
Only those little warblers whose notes are low 
and plaintive, or the sad cuckoo, or the thrush 
who sends his subdued melody out from some 
thicket, are heard in these quiet groves. And so 
the solemn revery beneath their shades is broken 
by no glad, triumphal song, which must be heard, 
and wondered at, and delighted in, when it bursts 
upon the ear. 

Still and quiet is the life about the grave in 



REVERIES. 157 

summer's prime; yet is it life which contrasts 
strongly with the sleep of death, and seems to 
have few associations which lead from the con- 
templation of the one to the other. But the 
stillness and peace which pervade the place pro- 
duce an influence that steals forth from the shad- 
ows and the flowers and the mossy rocks, and 
subdues the soul to solemn thought and sacred 
memories. The past returns with many a tender 
recollection of the beloved and lost, and with 
blessings on the good, the noble and the revered; 
and, following them to the grave, thought would 
fain pass the dread portal to see them in the 
world beyond. And thus, as summer's golden 
hours go by, we muse long over the sculptured 
marble or the flowery grave in sadness, reverence 
and prayer. 

Through the shady avenues winds a slow fune- 
ral train. The bright beauty of summer, with all 
its sweet blossoms, has been laid low. But yes- 
terday she was the centre of a world of thoughts 
and hopes ; beautiful in form and spirit, her look 
like a sunbeam, her virtues shed a sweet, refresh- 
ing influence about her. Parental pride and love 
scarce could desire more, and he to whom she 
would have been nearer than child or parent, had 
found in her all his heart's highest hopes and 
wishes. But now — 0, that such agony should 



158 FOREST HILJ.S CEMETERY. 

come in the sweet summer of her life and this 
bright summer of the year ! — that beautiful spirit 
has fled, and that lovely form is brought hither to 
its rest. Who shall measure the grief of those 
bereaved ones, father, mother, brother, lover, as 
they lay her down on this last couch ? The beau- 
ty of perfect summer is about them ; leaf, bud and 
blossom droop even over the open grave, and the 
beauties of the garden of the dead but add to 
their sorrow. 

But now it is past. The last rites are ended, 
and the bereaved, bowed down by the fall of that 
beautiful dust, yet cheered by the aspirations of 
that more beautiful spirit, have looked their last, 
and departed. Departed — to give place to oth- 
ers, who come with yet a deeper woe — a twofold 
bereavement. The matron in her ripened prime, 
and the fair young girl who just looked onward 
to a beautiful womanhood, have come together to 
tenant the last, peaceful home. In the full flush 
of life, in the bright season of hopes, and amid 
the harvest of joys^ suddenly, mysteriously — 
providentially, they have been summoned hence, 
mother and daughter together — united in death 
by an unutterable love. Followed by a long pro- 
cession of true mourners, their forms have been 
laid, side by side, where the tall trees cast a 
solemn shade in summer, and where the sun lin- 



EEVERIES. 159 

gers '^ith its warmest rays in winter; side by 
side have their spirits passed the portal which 
has opened to them the serener fields and purer 
skies of heaven. God be with the mourners here 
and in the desolate home ! 

To them how is this ground consecrated now ! 
— consecrated by sacred memories and holy in- 
fluences. Hither shall they often come ; in the 
music of the trees shall they hear the low-voiced 
angels singing, and in the golden sunlight see 
those blessed spirits beckoning them onward and 
upward to eternal joys. 

The oak has grown ruddy ; the birch and the 
maple are shedding golden showers upon the fad- 
ng turf and the scattered flowers; scarlet and 
brown are mingled with the bright green of the 
pine and the hemlock. The hazy atmosphere 
absorbs the sunlight, and the distant landscape is 
like a dream. The stillness of the woods is bro- 
ken only by the unfreqent note of some lingering 
bird or the whisper of the dying leaves. But to 
the soul there are voices, how eloquent and 
impressive ! breathing in the very silence, and in 
hai^mony with the faint song of bird and sigh of 
leaf, — voices that utter not, yet arc full of 
lessons. 

The summer has gone by, the harvest has ripen- 



160 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

ed and is gathered. Fit time to lay at rest him 
who has passed through the summer of life into 
its golden autumn with rich store of fruits. A 
sunny life has been his, — sunny with the genial 
warmth of good deeds and noble purposes ; 
clouded sometimes by circumstance; misfortune, 
or sorrow, but shining forth more brightly after 
the storm and the clouds were past. Beloved by 
circle beyond circle, from the few who dwelt ever 
beneath his sunny smile to the many who had 
experienced his goodness, he is lamented as cut 
down too soon in his usefulness. Yet is it not 
too soon, for he yielded precious fruits, and in his 
progress onward he had gone heavenward, calmly 
awaiting the summons that called him to his 
reward in a higher career. We may weep at 
the grave of such a man, for so much excellence 
departed, and rejoice in the memory of such an 
example to humanity. The sad trees cast their 
mantles on his grave, and the autumn sun sheds a 
glory about his rest. 

There are feastings in the land, rejoicings over 
the gathered harvests and the blessings of home, 
and kindred, and love. And there are mourners 
too, who have left their darkened dwelling and have 
come hither to the solemn groves, reverently to 
lay an aged parent at rest. There is a rustling 



REVERIES. 161 

of leaves on the ground ; dcep; sad music among 
the unrobed trees ; a soft requiem in the sighing 
pines. Long had the aged one lingered, through 
the mellow autumn into the frosts and snows of 
life's winter — after the setting of the sun, into 
the shadows of evening. But the longed-for night 
has come, and the wearied body sleeps, — the 
spirit is " at rest with God." The last sere leaf 
falls from the overbending branch on the turfless 
mound, as the sad mourners pass silently away. 
But there are green leaves in their memories. 

The sky is overcast, and the wind wails fitfully 
now; and there comes yet another tenant for the 
city of the dead ; — no aged form, but in the prime 
of manhood. It was the spirit that was old, worn 
down in the battle of life ; once daring, reckless, 
defiant, — then, alas ! chafing and angry, and then 
crushed and broken. Ay, bring him hither, the 
weary one, to the couch of long rest. The storms 
of life are past, and what shall he care for the 
angry clouds ? — they can but weep j or for the 
howling wind? — it will sound his requiem. Lay 
him down gently, ye few broken-hearted, the cold 
earth here shall tenderly embrace his ashes, — 
and oh ! hope and pray that in a far-off haven his 
spirit shall have found an eternal calm. 

Lo I the clouds have gathered more darkly, and 



162 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

the bleak wind swiftly drives the white snow- 
flakes. The sun goes down behind its mourning 
weedS; and darkness gathers over the earth — 
darkness and the fast-falling snow. Every where 
it is spread; even on the new-made grave, cover- 
ing it with a pure mantle of charity. 



"Speak low! — the place is holy to the breath 
Of awful harmonies, of whispered prayer; 
Tread lightly, for the sanctity of death 

Broods with a voiceless influence on the air: 
Stern, yet serene, — a reconciling spell 
Each troubled billow of the soul to quell." 

Divers are the visitors to the garden cemetery, 
coming with various feelings, and with hearts sus- 
ceptible to different influences from the beauty and 
solemnity of the place. Some come flitting through 
its shady avenues with no thought save of the 
great living world without, its fashion and folly, 
its ceaseless commotion and its frivolous pursuits. 
The stillness to which all that world must come, 
— the silent tenants here, once and so little time 
ago, active and restless in that tide of life, these 
are uncared for and unthought of. Others come, 
weary from the toil and anxieties of the daily 
routine, to relieve the mind and the body here 
where the dwellers toil not nor grow tired, yet 



REVERIES. 1G3 

with thoughts of recreation and pleasure only to 
fill the little gap between the hours of money- 
getting or household cares. But not always do 
even such visitors depart without some lesson. 

A few — nay, not a few, coming with light 
thoughts or crusted hearts, delaying their steps 
awhile by the flowery grave or the beautiful mon- 
ument, are touched by better feelings, purer 
thoughts and higher hopes, and carry home with 
them lessons which may, perhaps, be sometimes 
forgotten in the noise of the world, but which 
will never be efiaced. And some come hither 
seeking the sacred influence of the place — those 
with hearts saddened by the sufferings of the 
world, or mourners who have laid here the be- 
loved dead. And there is peace here for them, 
peace and serene hope, aspirations and prayer. 

A band of children seeking sport and flowers, 
full of young life and innocent gaiety, have enter- 
ed the sacred enclosure, wandering awhile from 
their play. Their musical voices are softened, 
their joyous laugh is hushed as they move by the 
resting-places of the dead. They gaze on the 
clustering flowers and up into the shadowy foliage 
in silence, and admire the sculptured stones half 
in fear. They read the epitaphs, and breathing 
almost whispered inquiries, gaze with large eyes 



164 FOKEST HILLS CEMETERY. 

into each other's faces. And so they pass slowly 
on, silenced and awed, for the place to them is 
sacred and solemn, but not terrible. 

And now, behold, they all pause and gather 
about the beautiful sculpture over a child's grave, 
— a child like them, who was called away from 
spring-time skies and flowers to the endless bloom 
of a brighter world. Silently they gaze upon the 
truthful marble, or turn their lustrous eyes, where 
tears are springing, towards each other, their 
hearts full of feelings that they cannot utter. 
And then they drop their gathered flowers upon 
that little grave, a tribute of unaffected innocence, 
and depart with saddened step and slow from the 
spot that has left impressions, 0, how deep ! upon 
their young hearts. The world, indeed, shall rub 
away even the remembrance of those emotions in 
some, but in some the plastic mind shall become 
firm, with the impressions ineffaceable. 

One in the pride of beautiful womanhood comes 
by, lovely in form, and with a beaming eye which 
reveals a spirit brilliant and gay. But pleasure 
and fashion have hung their chains upon her, and 
as her eye flashes her lip curls, and the smile that 
lights up her face is without warmth, and proud. 
The beauty of the garden cemetery impresses her 
mind, for it is formed to appreciate the loveliness 



REVERIES. 165 

of nature ; but the hallowed associations of the 
place find no acknowledgment there. She passes 
on, without sympathy for those who have reared 
these monuments or planted these flowers over the 
beloved dead, and the touching epitaph reaches 
only her eye or her lips, or at best her intellect, 
which can criticise its propriety and style. She 
passes on as in the living world, — as if there 
were no influence in these shades, about these 
graves, on these votive stones, which can touch 
the heart of one so beautiful and admired. 

But see, she pauses now, and her cheek is pale, 
her eye grows dim, she trembles, she — weeps. 
She has come to the grave of one who was as 
beautiful as she ; as beautiful, and of more lovely 
and gentle spirit, who was the companion of her 
girlhood, but who in the first bloom of womanhood 
passed onward to another world. How the 
thoughts of the past rush thickly on the mind of 
the beautiful worldling as she bends over that 
grave ! — the memory of hopes they had cherished 
together, of pleasures they had enjoyed, now gone 
forever. The proud heart is touched now, for 
death has come near to it. Parted in the current 
of life, it is now for the first time that this loss of 
one so dear has come home to her. She weeps 
for the lost friend, — for the smothered gentleness 
and better nature of her own soul. She looks 



166 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

inTrarcl, standing here at the beautiful and solemn 
portal of the unknown world; and reads her own 
life. And from this hour shall she look upward 
with purer purposes and higher hopes. 

Hither comes one who wears a look of gloom 
deeper than sadness. Not yet arrived at man's 
middle age, he has found dark ways in his journey 
through life, and the sunshine of friends has long 
since departed. He has met with the evil spirits 
that look out too often from men's souls in the place 
of goodness, and love, and charity. His expe- 
rience has not wholly hardened his own heart, but 
it has hung a thick veil of doubt and despondency 
over it, through which even the beautiful appears 
to him dark and gloomy. He is here, not to see 
the bright flowers or the rich sculpture, or the 
pleasant scenery ; nor to commune with the spirits 
of the sleepers here ; nor to feel the gentler in- 
fluences of these peaceful shades. He has come 
because the gloomy silence of the grave is more 
congenial than the bitter struggles and sharp con- 
flicts of the world ; because there is here a dark 
aspect which suits the darkness of his thoughts. 

He flings himself down in the deepest shadows 
to indulge his moody dreams. And as he rests, a 
quiet steals forth from the trees and flowers and 
gleaming marble even into his troubled heart. 



EEVERIES. 167 

There is peace here ; he feels it; he longs for it, — 

" for in the grave there is no work 
And no device," 

no selfish, heartless struggle, nor scorn, nor hate, 
nor anguish. A rest from these he desires ; and 
to the grave as a final goal, the end of storms, an 
eternal sleep, he fain would come, without thought 
or care or dread or hope of the mystery beyond. 
There is peace at length for all, when all shall 
lie down silent, still and equal, harmless and un- 
troubled. With this dark trust he goes forth 
to life's struggle with more endurance. He has 
found a morbid gratification in these shades, and 
so shall he come again, — again and again, until a 
brighter hope breaks on his shadowed soul. 

Through the avenues slowly comes a carriage 
from which looks out an aged man, whose face 
bears the stamp of many years and pressing cares. 
"With unquiet gaze his eye wanders from place to 
place, a stranger to the scene, as the mind within 
is a stranger to the thoughts that here arise. He 
has achieved wealth. For half a century, per- 
chance, he has been toiling with unremitting labor 
and ever anxious thought to increase his worldly 
goods, too careless of the better treasure which 
in these many years his soul might have gathered 



168 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

in. Nor yet is he satisfied j the goal towards 
which he toils is far in the distance^ unattainable, 
— receding still as with his increasing burden he 
approaches. Failing strength, silver hairs and 
wrinkled brow warn him that his toil is well nigh 
ended ; but none the less strong are his desires 
for treasure — earthly treasure — dross. Up from 
the weight of wealth has his better nature some- 
times striven, but yielded again, too weary in the 
contest with avarice and long-fixed habit. But 
now again it struggles, here, where the sacred 
garden with its solemn beauty aids. 

With trembling step he descends from the 
carriage to enter on one of the paths. He ap- 
proaches a monument and pauses to read the 
inscription. Are his eyes dim, that he tarries so 
long over that stone ? Ay, they are dim now with 
unaccustomed visitants, tears. The simple story 
on that unpretending stone has moved the depths 
of his soul. He has gone back in his thoughts to 
other years, and is thinking now of that young 
brother who long ago 

** By the way-side fell and perished, 
Weary with the march of life," — 

of that beloved daughter, gentle and pure, who 
in the midst of his earnest worldly toil was laid 
at rest far away, — and of her, too, the companion 



EEVERIES. 169 

of many years, wlio left his lieartli-stone desolate. 
The strong tide of memories overwhelms all other 
thoughts, and his possessions on earth are forgot- 
ten in these his dearer treasures in heaven. Go 
with him, holy thoughts ! and kindle those blessed 
hopes that shall light his few remaining days. 



What varied pages have been written in the 
book of life by the sleepers here ! Ah, could we 
turn the leaves and read the record, how would 
its lessons come home to the heart ! The brief 
story of childhood's innocence glows on many a 
page. Virtue and deep religious faith shine forth 
in golden words ; enduring strength and triumph- 
ant hope crown the chapters of a few. Suffering 
and sorrow have been inscribed by many ; misery 
and despair have too often told their story. 
There too, haply, may be written cold avarice, 
wrong, and cruelty, the vices of the world, and 
its crimes, — but ^^nil de inortuis nisi bonuinJ'^ 



The rose light has faded in the west; the dells 

have grown dark, and the shadows steal over the 

plains and the liills. In the stillness of the night 

the winds and the leaves sing requiems for the 

p 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



dead, and the stars come out to watch the silent 
graves. And so we leave these crumbling bodies 
wrapt in endless sleep, and their spirits, as we 
trust; like stars in Heaven. 



APPENDIX 



1. 

The following communication was presented 

by the Mayor, John J. Clarke, Esq., to the City 

Council, Oct. 5, 1846 : 

Gentlemen, — I desire to call your attention 
to the Burial-grounds at the corner of Washington 
and Eustis streets and on Warren street. Both 
of these grounds are in a dilapidated condition, 
and need attention ,* and at present reflect no 
honor upon the proprietors. The oldest of the 
two has long been filled, and no bodies are depos- 
ited there except in some old family tomb, and 
the other is nearly filled. 

At a time not very remote, it will become ne- 
cessary to procure other places of sepulture for 
those that shall die in the city. Mount Auburn 
is too distant, and but comparatively few feel able 
to procure lots there. I would therefore invite 
you to consider the expediency of purchasing a 
tract of land, (if one can be procured well adapt- 
ed,) and laying it out in a proper manner, and 
appropriating it to the purposes of a cemetery for 



174 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

the use of all the inhabitants of the city, on such 
terms and conditions as shall be thought best; 
and also to take measures to make the existing 
cemeteries more respectable. 

The communication was referred to a joint spe- 
cial committee, who reported, Nov. 16, in favor of 
repairing the old cemeteries ; and, subsequently, 
that they could find no suitable tract for a new 
cemetery ,• and the subject was then referred to 
the succeeding City Council. 

[The petition of Gen. Dearborn and others was for further 
regulation of burial-grounds, and the establishment of a 
rural cemetery beyond the more densely inhabited parts of 
the city. It is not to be found on the city files.] 



2. 



City Council, September 6, 1847. 

The Joint Standing Committee on Burial Grounds, respect- 
fully submit the following 

REPORT: 

From the very limited extent of the several 
Burial Grounds in Roxbury, and the rapid increase 
of inhabitants, it has become necessary that a tract 
of land should be procured, in as nearly a central 
position of the city, as is practicable, for a public 
Cemetery, and of a sufficient size to meet the pro- 
spective requirements of a population which must 
be vastly augmented within less than thirty years. 

Confined places of sepulchre, of the character of 
which now exist, in the midst of a large and dense 
population, are not only considered deleterious in 
their effects upon the public health, but incompat- 



APPENDIX. 175 

ible with a proper respect for the dead, as well 
as unpleasant and objectionable appendages to 
the habitations of the living. 

While modern nations have rivalled those of 
antiquity, that were most distinguished for their 
advancement in letters, science and the arts, in 
intelligence, enterprise and grandeur ; and far 
surpassed them in the establishment of numerous 
important institutions for ameliorating the condi- 
tion, elevating the character, improving the morals 
and extending the advantages of instruction and 
refinement to all classes of the people ; and not- 
withstanding the immense benefits which have 
been derived from the glorious revelations of the 
Messiah, as contrasted with the infinitely various 
mythologies of antecedent ages, for a more per- 
fect development of the affections of the heart, 
the guidance of enlightened reason, and a knowl- 
edge of the higher duties incumbent upon the 
faithful disciples of the Sacred Messenger of Om- 
nipotence ; still have they remained far in the 
rear of Pagan empires, in appropriate manifesta- 
tions of respect for the memory of deceased rela- 
tives and friends, and the names, characters, and 
services of their illustrious benefactors in peace 
and war. 

The ancients not considerino: it either decorous 
or reverential to the dead, to deposit their re- 
mains in the midst of the living, while a proper 
regard to sanatory principles rendered such a 
custom highly objectionable ; therefore, they were 
induced to locate their sepulchres beyond the 
walls of the cities. 

The cemeteries of the ever memorable city of 
Thebes were excavated in the distant mountains ; 



176 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

and that of Memphis, the last regal capital of the 
Pharaohs of Egypt, was on the borders of lake 
Meoris. There expensive catacombs were cut in 
the solid rock, and richly embellished with sculp- 
tures, paintings and inscriptions, illustrative of the 
rank and memorable events in the lives of the 
individuals whose remains were there deposited, 
after having been embalmed in such a perfect 
manner as to yet exist in an undecayed condition, 
after the lapse of more than three thousand years. 
The chief burial places of Jerusalem were in 
the valley of Jehoshaphat, and in the sides of the 
adjacent hills. There the "Potters Field" was 
'located, which was purchased by the priests with 
the returned "pieces of silver" which the com- 
punctious and repentant Judas had received as 
" the price of blood ; " and on the borders of 
Mount Calvary was the "new sepulchre" of Jo- 
seph of Arimathea, in which the body of the cru- 
cified Saviour of the world was laid. 

The Cemetery of Athens was in the Cer amicus, 
which extended from the gate opposite the Fo- 
rum to the garden of the Academy, and included 
the residence and school of Plato. Within that 
spacious area were not only interred the citizens 
of the most superb city of Greece, but the ashes 
of every officer, soldier, and mariner, who fell in 
battle in distant regions, were brought back, and 
there deposited. Processions, formed by each of 
the ten tribes to which they belonged, accompa- 
nied the funeral car. Orators were appointed to 
deliver eulogiums, and richly- sculptured cenotaphs 
were erected at. the public expense, to commemo- 
rate their names and gallant deeds in defence of 
the rights and honor of their country. 



APPENDIX. 171 

The Greeks, instead of desecrating their splen- 
did temples, as we do our churches, by the inlm- 
mation of dead bodies within their hallowed walls, 
allowed no tomb to be made within sight of the 
magnificent national temple of Apollo at Delos, 
or even within sight of the island, which had been 
solemnly dedicated to that divinity. 

The Romans were prohibited, by the twelve 
tables of the laws, from burying, or burning any 
person upon the funeral pile, within the walls of 
their cities. The funereal monuments of the most 
distinguished civil and military officers and noble 
and wealthy citizens were reared on the borders 
of the xippian, Claudian, Flaminian, and the other 
great highways which connected the Imperial city 
with distant parts of the empire ; and many of 
them still remain as imperishable memorials of 
the veneration of the people for their eminent 
men, and of parental and filial affection. The 
beautiful marble sarcophagus of Scipio Africanus 
was removed from the majestic mausoleum of that 
eminent family, by one of the modern pontiffs, and 
is still to be seen in the Vatican, and has been 
often copied, as a sepulchral monument, in the 
cemeteries of Europe and this country. That of 
Spurzheim, near the gateway of Mount Auburn, is 
an example. 

Even the Turks have imitated the example of 
the Israelites, whose God and religion is so far 
acknowledged as to form the basis of Mahomet's 
Koran, and have established their cemetery for 
Constantinople on the Asiatic shore of the Bos- 
phorus of Thrace ; and from the universal custom 
of planting trees at each end of the graves by the 
surviving relatives, the extensive grove which has 



178 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

thus been formed in the burial-place of Scutari, 
during the five centuries which have passed since 
the banner of the crescent was planted upon the 
Imperial palace of the last of the Caesars, forms 
one of the most interesting and picturesque feat- 
ures in the scenery of the Ottoman capital, and is 
a favorite place of visitation by all ranks of the 
people during the sultry months of summer. 

During the age of the Patriarchs, groves, hills, 
valleys and other umbrageous situations, were 
selected as the most appropriate localities for 
sepulchres. When Sarah died, Abraham purchas- 
ed " the field of Ephron, in Machpelah, with all 
the trees that were therein and the borders round 
about, as a burying-place," and there he deposited 
the remains of his wife, and ^^ there they buried 
Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah, and Leah ; " and when 
Jacob had blessed his sons, "he said unto them, 
I am to be gathered unto my people ; bury me 
with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of 
Ephron." Eleazer was buried "in a hill that per- 
tained to Phineas;" Deborah "beneath Bethel 
under an oak;" Saul and his sons "under a tree;" 
and Manasseh and Amnion "in the garden of 
Uzza." 

So general was the practice of all nations, both 
ancient and modern, to exclude cemeteries from 
cities, that no adverse example was presented in 
any portion of Europe, until the reign of Pope 
Gregory the Great, in the sixth century, when 
he allowed vaults to be constructed under the 
churches of Rome, and that unfortunate precedent 
was gradually followed by all Christian nations, 
with the addition of permitting inhumations with- 
in the enclosures of cathedrals, churches, and 
chapels. 



APPENDIX. 179 

At last, after tlie experience of twelve centu- 
ries, the same prudential considerations for the 
preservation of the public health, and a returning 
recognition of that pious and respectful regard 
for the ashes and memory of the dead, which in- 
duced the Orientals to locate their cemeteries at 
a proper distance from their cities, combined with 
the difficulty of obtaining a sufficiently spacious 
tract of land within the limits of the throng;ed 
capital of the French empire, to meet the increas- 
ing demand for a place of interment, compelled 
the municipal government to seek an eligible site 
in the country; and in 1804 the extensive park of 
Pere la Chaise was purchased for that purpose. 
The grounds were laid out by Broguiart, a cele- 
brated artist, under the superintendence of Count 
Chrobrol de Yalvie, Prefect of the Department of 
the Seine. 

Causes adverse to the indulgence of agreeable 
recollections of departed friends, were combined 
in such a revolting manner in Paris, as to preclude 
the indulgence of a disposition to recur to the 
sad event of their dissolution. The places of in- 
humation were in confined, foetid and horrible 
situations, where the rays of the sun scarcely 
appeared, and in which broad, deep and dark pits 
were daily opened, into which the dead bodies 
were thrown that were removed from the houses 
in the night, unaccompanied by any one save the 
undertakers. The dead were not even enclosed 
in the meanest coffins, and often stript of all their 
vestments before the last act of the terrible rite 
was completed ; while against the high, damp and 
moss-covered walls of the general enclosure, were 
promiscuously piled up the bones of thousands of 



180 FOEEST HILLS CEMETERY. 

men, women and children^ which had been annu- 
ally removed from the re-opened vaults to make 
room for the remains of other unfortunate beings, 
who were doomed to the same horrible exit from 
the midst of their relatives and friends. Like 
fearful charnel-houses existed in Rome, and many 
other European cities, and the humid, dreary, and 
inappropriate arches formed under the sanctuaries 
of religion, as well as the usual church-yards of all 
Christian countries, were but little less forbidding 
in their appearance and associations ; and conse- 
quently, so far from inviting frequent visits of 
friends to the "narrow houses" of their deceased 
companions, such was the deplorable array of de- 
lapidated monuments, nearly obscured by rank and 
noxious weeds, and the lugrubrious aspect of the 
whole scene, that they were avoided with a kind 
of horror, approaching to a superstitious dread of 
the apprehended consequences of an attempt to 
identify the position where reposed the ashes of 
parents or children. To forget that they have 
thus been separated from the living and consigned 
to utter oblivion, was the awful alternative that 
devolved upon the bereaved relatives. 

But the establishment of the rural cemetery of 
Pere la Chaise had a powerful influence upon the 
whole people. Long-suppressed sympathies have 
been resuscitated, devotion has been roused, and 
a generous interest experienced for the remains 
of departed kindred, and thus rendered often-re- 
peated visits to the graves of those who had been 
loved and revered, sources of sad yet instructive 
meditation, of reminiscences that are '^pleasant, 
but mournful to the soul." It is in such conse- 
crated grounds; — those umbrageous, picturesque 



APPENDIX. 181 

and silent " Gardens of the Dead," that piety is 
excited, patriotism exalted, and the affections de- 
veloped in such an emphatic manner as to invest 
funereal rites with sanctity, refine the morals of 
society, dignify humanity, and add lustre to the 
character of nations. 

But such a great and novel change in the estab- 
lished customs of nations, and especially among 
the luxurious and pleasure-seeking people of the 
European capital, required the potent influence of 
cultivated reason, the sanction of imposing exam- 
ple, the embellishments of the arts, — the exciting 
effects of civil and military processions, — the 
requiems of " peace-parted souls," the far-resound- 
ing beat of the muffled drum, the occasional blasts 
of the war-trumpet, the drooping banner of many 
a stricken field, the pomp of mustered legions 
bronzed in the smoke of battle, contrasted with 
the sad drapery of the grief-bowed and heart- 
stricken members of the mourning household, the 
thrilling appeals of eloquence, the munificence of 
the affluent, and the extended patronage of gov- 
ernment, to render the long-required experiment 
as successful in its moralizing effects, as it was 
honorable and sublime in conception. 

Public opinion had not included in the number 
of essential virtues, a holy respect for the ashes 
and memory of relatives and friends. All melan- 
choly reflections had been so long uniformly 
repulsed by the chilling influence of precedent, 
and whatever might cause reflection upon the 
instability of human happiness and the fragility of 
existence was studiously excluded from the mind, 
from the lamentable indifference which prevailed 
in relation to those unavoidable and 
Q 



182 FOREST HILLS CEMETEEY. 

daily calamities, to which all are liable and must 
ultimately submit ; but could not anticipate their 
realization by a single prospective glance, in the 
full enjoyment of health, prosperity, and the per- 
petual festivities of the community by which they 
were surrounded, from which grief and sorrow 
were conventionally excluded, as incompatible 
with the spirit and manners of the age. 

As late therefore as 1812, and after the expi- 
ration of eight years from the foundation of the 
cemetery, only about one hundred monuments had 
been reared ; but the following year an ardent 
zeal began to be evinced for venerating the mem- 
ory of departed friends in the night of the tomb. 
The commanding site of Pere la Chaise, and the 
natural advantages which it combined, with the 
salutary measures and great efforts which were 
made to render it interesting and available for 
all the purposes for which it had been established, 
attracted the attention of all ranks of the people. 
A manufactory of every kind of funereal monu- 
ments was included within the grounds, which was 
supplied with granite, marble, freestone and other 
requisite materials ; the most perfect and admira- 
ble models, and workmen of the first talent to 
execute all orders with promptness and skill in 
the best manner, as well as bronze and iron pal- 
ings of various beautiful patterns for protecting 
the sepulchres from outrage. The porter prepar- 
ed wreaths and crowns, and daily supplied freshly 
gathered flowers for relatives and friends to de- 
corate the tombs of the deceased members of 
their families. 

In 1814, the number of monuments was increas- 
ed to five hundred, and in 1827 there were three 



APPENDIX. 183 

thousand, and there had been deposited in all tlic 
compartments, including that appropriated to 
those persons ^*ho were so poor as not to be able 
to purchase perpetual graves, one hundred and 
sixty-six thousand eight hundred bodies. 

Marshals Messena, Ney, Lcfevre, and other re- 
nowned military chieftains, who were well known 
to all Europe by their brilliant achievements, 
there found the term of their glory, but not of 
their fame ,* the companions of their victories 
were emulous to continue their homage in the 
eclipse of the sepulchre. 

Perpetual tombs having been ultimately forbid- 
den in the other public and private burial-places 
in Paris, and the doors of the Pantheon, which 
had been dedicated for the reception of the ashes 
of illustrious men, at last closed against the grand 
dignitaries of a government which no longer ex- 
isted, the cemetery of Pere la Chaise became the 
place of rendezvous for all the great and opulent 
personages of the city; for the distinguished in 
letters, science and the arts ; for men celebrated 
as active participants in remarkable political 
events or official stations ; with the successful in 
the hazardous career of commercial adventure, 
and all the branches of national industry. The 
spoils of the dead were there collected, families 
were re-united, all opinions were confounded, and 
strangers from all parts of the earth mingled their 
ashes with those of the inhabitants of France. 
Each signalized his piety by monuments propor- 
tioned to his pecuniary means. No one was will- 
ing to be considered wanting in gratitude, but 
rather to evince an emulous disposition to present 
memorials of an elevated conception of duty, and 



184 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

a profound respect for his departed kindred. 
Universal admiration was the natural appendage 
of good hearts, whose sensibility ceased not to 
offer a sincere homage to the manes of their 
friends by embellishing their monuments and 
crowning them with immortelles.* The multitude 
imitated them by cultivating plants on the graves 
of their relatives, and bringing wreaths and gar- 
lands from a distance to ornament them. To 
devote a connection to oblivion became an op- 
probrium. 

In wandering over the grounds of Pere la Chaise, 
where repose so many persons of all countries in 
the long sleep of death, may be seen every variety 
of monument used among all the nations of the 
earth, from the pyramid raised by Egyptian pride, 
to the basket of flowers, under which the Turk 
and the Persian await the moment of being awak- 
ened to everlastino: life. Near each other are 
beheld the sarcophagus of the Thebans, the stele 
and cenotaphs of the Greeks, the antique bourn of 
the Romans, the mausoleums of Asia Minor, the 
columbariums of the. ancients, mortuary chapels, 
the architecture of Athens near that of the Arabs, 
the cinerary urn, the sable wing of the edifices on 
the banks of the Nile, the reversed flambeaux, the 
bird of death, crosses of every form, crowns of 
oak and myrtle, rose-buds, the turf-covered mound 
at the base of a lofty column, and the humble 
grave-stone near the marble statue of some illus- 
trious man. 

Foreigners, who beheld this revolution in the 
customs and manners of a whole people, were 

* Peculiar-formed chaplets made of flowers. 



APPENDIX. 185 

anxious to verify it by visiting Perc la Chaise, 
and were filled witli wonder and admiration on 
finding in a burial-placej whatever there was in 
nature which could give satisfaction to the mind, 
and everything in the arts which could gratify a 
refined taste, as well as the most impressive les- 
sons of an exalted appreciation of the dictates of 
philosophy, religion, morality and patriotism. All 
extolled it as a phenomenon, and in a few years 
it not only acquired an European distinction, but 
became celebrated round the globe. 

The admirable example thus presented l)y 
France, of an ancient Necropolis,"^ was soon fol- 
lowed in England and other portions of Europe, 
and in 1831 the cemetery of Mount Auburn was 
consecrated. The cemetery contains one hun- 
dred and ten acres. 

Within the brief period of sixteen years there 
have been sold 1402 cemetery lots, in which more 
than three thousand persons have been buried, 
and upwards of five hundred monuments erected, 
of the most appropriate forms and materials 
which ancient and modern artists have devised or 
employed, from a plain block of granite, bearing 
merely a name, to the lofty obelisk, sculptured 
column, richly-embellished marble temple, and 
colossal bronze statue. A large portion of the 
burial lots are surrounded with decorated iron 
fences, and on the borders of them are cultivated 
trees, shrubs and flower plants. 

The land was first enclosed with a wooden 
fence, but that has been replaced on the whole 
front by one of iron, of the most substantial and 



* City of the Dead. 



186 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

beautiful kind ever built in the United States, and 
a granite gateway, with a porter's lodge and office 
annexed, of the Egyptian style of architecture, at 
an expense of $24,000. A superb Gothic chapel 
has just been completed, which cost nearly $30,000. 
In the purchase of the land, laying out the ave- 
nues and paths, building a cottage for the super- 
intendent, and all other work, there has been 
expended about $110,000, and there remains in 
the treasury about $30,000. There has, besides, 
been paid to the Horticultural Society $20,000. 
The whole of the funds to meet this large expend- 
iture, except donations to the amount of $7,000, 
have been derived from the sale of burial lots j 
and not more than a quarter of the whole number 
which can be formed, have been disposed of. 

All the income derivable from the sale of lots 
is to be expended upon the cemetery, in the exca- 
vation of small lakes, the establishment of foun- 
tains, extending the iron fence on the three other 
sides of the grounds, the erection of a grand 
cenotaph to Washington, on the summit of the 
highest hill, in the form of the Chorogic monu- 
ment, the Temple of the Winds, or some other 
celebrated Grecian edifice, and extensive improve- 
ments both for convenience and embellishment. 

Since the cemetery of Mount Auburn was com- 
menced, like rural cemeteries have been estab- 
lished at Salem, Worcester, Springfield, Philadel- 
phia, on Long Island, and in many other parts of 
the Union. Our Committee are of opinion that 
the period has arrived when Roxbury should 
hasten to find a burial-place that shall be as cred- 
itable to the city, as any which have been estab- 
lished in this country, when the limited means at 



APPENDIX. 187 

its command, for the accomplishment of such a 
work, are taken into consideration, with the pres- 
ent limited amount of population. The Committee, 
therefore, have made extensive reconnoissances 
during the past summer, for the purpose of dis- 
covering a site that would the most perfectly 
combine all the requisite qualities in natural 
features, capabilities of improvement, and a cen- 
tral position, so far as it was possible to do so ; 
and they confidently believe that they have been 
fortunate by being able to select a tract of land, 
which not only includes most of the important 
elements for the fulfilment of those conditions j 
but which can be obtained on terms that may be 
deemed favorable. 

This site is the Seaverns Farm, which fronts 
on Canterbury street ; there is also a small tract 
of about seven acres that is owned by Dr. Warren, 
which it is desirable should be obtained, and it is 
believed ultimately may be, for the purpose of 
opening an avenue into Walk Hill street. The 
whole farm contains about eighty-five acres, an 
outline plan of which, and the adjacent estates in 
part, accompanies this report, for the purpose of 
presenting the exact position of the land and its 
sub-divisions. 

The Warren lot, with a portion of the tract 
which includes about fifty-five acres and is defined 
in the plan, has been selected for the cemetery. 
The price demanded is three hundred and fifty 
dollars per acre, for the payment of which the 
notes of the city, redeemable in ten years and 
bearing an interest of six per cent., will be taken ; 
The Committee therefore recommend that the 
purchase be immediately made. The remainder 



188 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

of the farm, which contains thirty acres, it is con- 
sidered, by several members of the Committee 
important to purchase; but as it includes the 
dwelling-house, barns and other edifices, the or- 
chard, garden, and the most valuable part of the 
cultivated land, the price asked is six hundred 
dollars per acre ; the Committee, therefore, have 
not been willing to take the responsibility of urg- 
ing the purchase, but submit the subject to the 
deliberation and decision of the City Council. 

By the annexed statement it will appear, that 
if the cemetery should contain sixty-two acres, it 
will form 6,751 burial lots of 300 square feet 
each, after deducting one quarter of the land for 
carriage avenues and footpaths. If, then, one- 
fourth of the number of lots be sold for fifty 
dollars, and the remainder at the average price 
of one hundred dollars, they will produce an in- 
come of $590,750, which can be gradually appro- 
priated for the erection of an iron fence, a granite 
gateway, a chapel, a cottage for the superintend- 
ent, and other appropriate and necessary struc- 
tures, and leave a fund, the interest of which will 
keep the grounds in the best possible condition 
forever. 

Although the cost of the land will amount to 
about twenty-two thousand dollars, the sale of 
four hundred and forty lots will afford a sum more 
than sufficient to liquidate the debt incurred in its 
purchase, and the income from an annual sale of 
twenty-seven lots will pay the interest. 

Should it be considered expedient to purchase 
the whole farm, the portion which may be appro- 
priated for a cemetery could be better located, if 
not augmented to advantage, and the entrance to 



APPENDIX. 189 

it from Canterbury street be more conveniently 
and symmetrically arranged, while the remainder 
of the land, not included in the cemetery, can be 
laid out into cottage lots, in such a manner as to 
render them interesting and valuable as places of 
residence, from the spacious extent of open 
grounds in their immediate vicinity, which will be 
embellished with forest trees, shrubs and flowering 
plants, and thus rendered an important and diver- 
sified feature in the surrounding landscape. 

Even if the additional land cannot be obtained 
for less than six hundred dollars per acre, it is 
highly probable that in less than five years the 
house-lots can be sold for more than double their 
cost to the city, if the causes that have so remark- 
ably tended to increase the business, population, 
and resources of Boston and the surrounding 
towns during the last ten years should continue. 
Three cents per square foot would amount to 
over thirteen hundred dollars per acre ; and it is 
to be remembered, that all the land in this city 
must necessarily be enhanced in value, in a ratio 
equal, at least, to that of the population, com- 
merce, manufactures, the mechanic arts, and all 
other branches of industry and trade in the capi- 
tal of the State. 

* * ^ -jf * 

There can be no danger of erring in our course, 
for it is only necessary to take a retrospective 
view of past ages to attain a knowledge of the 
future, since there, as in a vast mirror, are shad- 
owed forth " coming events," in all their startling 
palpability and grandeur. Induction and demon- 
stration, aided by arithmetical demonstration; 
with well-authenticated statistical facts, are the 



190 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

ample elements for reducing conjectures to cer- 
tainty, and changing apparent chimerical predic- 
tions into veritable prophecy. With such means 
should we ever endeavor to rightly direct our 
march in the research for truth and the verifica- 
tion of fact. 

Now is the favorable time to act with prompt- 
ness, decision and energy, for the benefit of the 
present and all succeeding generations, and ena- 
ble all classes of people to indulge in the outpour- 
ings of their sorrows, and a generous expression 
of their gratitude and veneration for those who 
were most beloved and honored upon the earth, 
by assigning to them a resting-place from all the 
ills to which man is subjected during the pilgrim- 
age of life, in the quiet and holy shade of a rural 
cemetery. 

So universal is the inherent desire of an earth- 
ly immortality, that every human being is anxious 
to be remembered Ae/'e, and to have his name 
perpetuated through all time. To pass from 
among the living, without the probability of the 
spot where one is laid being known, or the name 
ever again repeated — to be forgotten forever, 
are reflections bordering upon that which the 
thought of utter annihilation would produce in the 
mind of the dying, whether virtuous or vicious, 
rich or poor, debased or exalted, young or old. 
It is not sufficient that the Son of God has assured 
us that the soul is immortal ; but there is an un- 
obliterable sentiment, a deep and strong solicitude 
that our brief and eventful life should be eternally 
perpetuated among the living ; and is it not as 
much a duty in a parent, child or friend, to aid in 
the attempt to meet that demand upon their sym- 



APPENDIX. 191 

patliies and tlieir conscience, as it is productive of 
moral, religious and patriotic influences ? The 
scarred and rigid features of the aged Indian 
chieftain are lighted up with a smile of pride and 
ambition, in the belief that each passing warrior 
of his tribe will drop a pebble upon his grave. 
The expiring mariner is consoled by the assurance 
that funereal rites will be observed as his lifeless 
body is plunged into the ocean, and slowly sinks 
into the abyss of waters. The soldier's last mo- 
ments of life are cheered by the reflection that he 
shall be buried with military honors. 

Such is human nature ; and why should we not 
follow the dictates of the heart, and act from the 
impressive teachings of the soul, which are derived 
from a source far higher and more holy than man 
can comprehend ; yet he doubts not they are as 
imperative upon hiui as the precepts and injunc- 
tions recorded in the sacred scriptures, for they 
have been written upon the tablets of the mind, 
and inscribed upon the sanctuary of the heart by 
the hand of the Almighty. 

The pyramids of Gizeh, many of the splendid 
architectural structures of Athens, the triumphal 
arches of Rome, the column of Austerlitz in Paris, 
the obelisk of Bunker Hill, and the colossal statue 
of Washington in the capital of this republic, are 
but so many majestic monuments to commemorate 
the names and services of the distinguished patri- 
ots of the ages and nations in which they were 
reared ; and may be as appropriately considered 
funereal as the rudest head- stone that designates 
the humble grave of " some village Hampden," or 
that where " some mute, inglorious Milton rests," 
in the rustic church-yard of his native hamlet. 



192 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

Let US then emulate the enlightened and pious, 
the good and great, the affectionate and generous, 
the kind and magnanimous of all other nations 
and ages, that were most distinguished for their 
advancement in civilization, and enable our fellow- 
citizens to pay all possible respect and honor to 
the remains of those whom they loved and revered 
when living. 

H. A. S. Dearborn, Chairman, 

City of Roxhury, Sept. 6, 1847. 



STATEMENT OF THE INCOME THAT MAY BE DE- 
RIVED FROM THE SALE OF CEMETERY LOTS. 

There are 43,560 square feet in an acre. 

In 62 acres there are . . . 2,700,720 sq. feet. 
Deduct 1-4 for avenues and paths, . 675,180 " 

Leaving for burial lots, 2,025,540 sq. feet. 

Lots 15 by 20 contain 300 square feet each, = 6,751 lots. 
A quarter of the number, viz., 1,687, being sold at fifty dol- 
lars each, will yield $84,350. The remaining 5,064 lots, 
being sold at an average price of one hundred dollars each, 
will yield $506,400 ; making the total amount for all the 
lots $590,750. Cost of 62 acres of land at $350 per acre, is 
$21,700. Interest on the cost of the land $1,302. 

The annual sale of 27 lots will pay the interest of the cost 
of the land. The sale of 440 lots, at fifty dollars each, will 
pay the cost of the land. 



APPENDIX. 193 



(JRDER for the first purchase of the Seaverns land, passed 
by both branches of the City Council, Nov. 9, 1847. 

Ordered, That the joint standing committee on 
Burial-Gromids be, and they hereby are author- 
ized to purchase of Joel SeavernS; for a Rural 
Cemetery, a tract of land called the Seaverns 
Farm, containing fifty-five acres, more or less, at 
three hundred and fifty dollars per acre ; and the 
city treasurer is hereby authorized and required 
to give the note of the city for the amount of the 
purchase-money of said l-and, payable in ten years 
from the first day of August, A. D. 1847, with in- 
terest at the rate of six per cent, per annum, pay- 
able annually. 

Ordered, further, That a joint special commit- 
tee of five l3e appointed to apply to the General 
Court, for an amendment to the City Charter, 
authorizing the city council to choose commis- 
sioners, or trustees, not exceeding five, who shall 
have the sole care, superintendence, and manage- 
ment of said Cemetery, and report thereon, annu- 
ally, to the city council : one of whom, after five 
years, shall go out of office each year, and one 
member of said board of commissionj[?rs, or trus- 
tees, chosen annually thereafter in the month oi' 
April : said amendment to provide further, that a 
portion of said Cemetery be set apart or appro- 
priated for public burial, free of charge, and also 
that the proceeds of sales of lots or rights of 
burial in said Cemetery, shall be devoted to the 
liquidation of the debt incurred in the purchase 

R 



194 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

of the land, and to the improvement and embel- 
lishment of the Cemetery, under the direction of 
said commissioners, or trustees, and that no mo- 
neys shall be appropriated from the city treasury 
by the city council, for such improvement and em- 
bellishment, together with such other provisions 
as said committee may deem proper, and for the 
interest of said Cemetery and of the city. 



ORDER for the purchase of land of John Parkinson, passed 
by the City Council, June 26, 1848. 

Ordered, That the commissioners of the Rural 
Cemetery of the city of Roxbury be, and they are 
hereby authorized to purchase of John Parkinson, 
Esq., a tract of land as drawn by Mr. Henry Onion, 
on a plan dated May 22d, and June 2d, 1848, con- 
taining, according to said plan, twelve acres and 
20,898 square feet, and lying northeasterly from, 
and contiguous to, land bought by the city of Rox- 
bury of Joel Seaverns, Esq., and that the same be 
included as part of the Rural Cemetery of the 
city of Roxbury, and to be under the sole care, 
superintendence and management of the commis- 
sioners of the Rural or Public Cemetery of the 
city of Roxbury, and they shall lay out said land 
in suitable lots or other subdivisions, for family or 
other burying-places, with all the necessary paths 
and avenues, and shall have authority to grant 
and convey to any person or persons, by deed 
duly executed, the sole and exclusive right of bu- 
rial, and of erecting tombs, cenotaphs, and other 
monuments in any of the designated lots or sub- 
divisions ; and shall have all the authority and do 



APPENDIX. 195 

all the things in relation to said land which they 
are empowered and required to do by an act of 
the Legislature relating to a public Cemetery in 
the city of Roxbury, passed March 24, 1848, that 
they would have had if said land had been pur- 
chased and united with the land bought of Joel 
Seaverns, Esq., as a part of the Cemetery grounds 
previous to the act of the Legislature : 

And that the city treasurer be authorized and 
directed, whenever a deed of said land shall be 
furnished to the city, with a satisfactory title to 
the same, to give the note or the notes of the city 
for a sum not exceeding six thousand seven hun- 
dred and thirty-one dollars ($6,731), payable in 
six years from the first day of July, 1848, with 
interest annually. 



ORDER for the purchase of additional land of Joel Seaverns, 
passed by the City Council, Sept. 27, 1852. 

Ordered, That the commissioners of Forest 
Hills Cemetery be, and they are hereby authorized 
to purchase of Joel Seaverns, Esq., a tract of land 
with the buildings thereon, as drawn by Charles 
H. Pool on a plan dated Sept. 25th, 1852, con- 
taining, according to said plan, thirty -two acres 
two yards thirty-six rods, lying southerly of and 
adjoining the cemetery land, and that the same be 
included as part of Forest Hills Cemetery, and 
they shall lay out said land in suitable lots, or 
other subdivisions, for family or other burying- 
places, with all the necessary avenues and paths, 
and shall have authority to grant and convey to 
any person or persons, by deed duly executed, the 



196 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

sole and exclusive right of burial, and erecting 
tombs, cenotaphs and other monuments . in any of 
the designated lots, or subdivisions; and shall 
have all the authority and do all the things in re- 
lation to said land which they are empowered and 
required to do by an act of the Legislature relat- 
ing to a public Cemetery in the city of Roxbury, 
passed March, 1848, that they would have had if 
said land had been purchased and united with the 
land bought of Joel Seaverns, Esq., previous to 
the act of the Legislature of March, 1848, as a 
part of the Cemetery grounds; and that the city 
treasurer be, and he is hereby authorized and di- 
rected to issue the scrip of the city for an amount 
not exceeding the sum of $9,000, in such sums and 
on such time as shall be deemed expedient by the 
commissioners of Forest Hills Cemetery, not, how- 
ever, to exceed ten years from the first day of 
October next. 



AN ACT relating to a Pablic Cemetery in the City of 
Roxbury. 

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives in General Court assembled^ and by 
the authority of the saine, as follows : 

. Sect. 1. The city council of Roxbury is hereby 
authorized to elect, by joint ballot in convention, 
a board of five commissioners, for the term of five 
years, who shall have the sole care, superintend- 



APPENDIX. 197 

ence and management of the Rural Cemetery, 
established by said city council ; one member of 
which board shall go out of office each year, and 
one member shall be chosen annually in the month 
of March ; but said board, or either member 
thereof, after having had an opportunity to be 
heard in his or their defence, may be removed at 
any time, by a concurrent vote of two-thirds of 
each branch of the city council, and in case of a 
vacancy in said board of commissioners by death, 
resignation, removal, or otherwise, such vacancy 
shall be filled by the choice of another commis- 
sioner in the manner aforesaid, who shall hold his 
office for the residue of the term for which such 
member, so deceased, resigned or removed, would 
have held the same. Said board may be organ- 
ized by the choice of a chairman and secretary 
from their own number, and a major part of said 
board shall constitute a quorum for the exercise 
of the powers and the performance of the duties of 
the said office. And the term for which the seve- 
ral members of the first board of commissioners 
shall hold their office, shall be determined by the 
city council as follows : The commissioner first 
chosen shall hold his office for five years; the 
commissioner next chosen, shall hold his office for 
four 3^ears ; the commissioner next chosen, shall 
hold his office for three years ; the commissioner 
next chosen, shall hold his office for two years ; 
and the commissioner next chosen, shall hold his 
office for one year. 

Sect. 2. The said board of commissioners shall 
set apart and appropriate a portion of said Cem- 
etery as a public burial-place for the use of the 
inhabitants of the city of Roxbury, free of any 



198 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

(iharge therefor; and they shall lay out said Cem- 
etery ill suitable lots, or other subdivisions, for 
family or other burial-places, with all the neces- 
sary paths and avenues, and may plant and embel- 
lish the same with trees, shrubs, flowers and other 
rural ornaments, and may enclose and divide the 
same with proper fences, and erect or annex 
thereto such suitable edifices, appendages and 
conveniences, as they shall from time to time deem 
expedient; and said board may make all necessa- 
ry by-laws, rules and regulations, in the execution 
of their trust, not inconsistent with this act and 
the laws of the Commonwealth, as they shall deem 
expedient. 

Sect. 3. Said board of commissioners shall have 
authority to grant and convey to any person or 
persons, by deeds duly executed, the sole and ex- 
clusive right of burial, and of erecting tombs, 
cenotaphs, and other monuments in any of the 
designated lots or subdivisions of said Cemetery, 
upon such terms and conditions as they shall by 
their rules and regulations prescribe. 

Sect. 4. The proceeds of sales of lots or rights 
of burial in said Cemetery, shall be paid into the 
city treasury, to be kept separate from any other 
funds of the city, and subject to the order of said 
commissioners, and such proceeds shall be devoted 
to the liquidation of the debt incurred in the pur- 
chase of the land for said Cemetery, and to the 
improvement and embellishment thereof, as afore- 
said, under the direction of said board of commis- 
sioners. And no other moneys shall be appro- 
priated from the city treasury by the city council, 
for such improvement and embellishment. 

Sect. 5. Said board of commissioners shall an- 



APPENDIX. 199 

nually, in the month of February, and whenever 
required by the city council, make and render a 
report in writing of all their acts and proceedings, 
and of the condition of the Cemetery, and an ac- 
count of the receipts and expenditures for the 
same, and the funds subject to their order. 

Sect. 6. This act shall be void unless the city 
council of Roxbury shall accept the same at a 
meeting of said city council, called for that pui'- 
pose, within thirty days after its passage. 

Sect. 7. This act shall take effect from and 
after its passage. 

[Approved by the Governor March 24, 1848. Accepted by 
the City Council.] 



AN ACT in addition to an Act relating to a Public Ceme- 
tery in the City of Roxbury. 

Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Repre- 
sentatives in General Court assc7nbled, and by 
the authority of the same, as follows : 

Sect. 1. The board of commissioners of the 
Rural Cemetery in Roxbury, elected by the city 
council, pursuant to an act approved March twen- 
ty-fourth, one thousand eight hundred and forty- 
eight, are authorized to take and hold any grant, 
donation, or bequest of property, upon trust, to 
apply the same, or the income thereof, for the im- 
provement or embellishment of the said Cemetery, 
or for the erection, repair, preservation, or re- 
newal of any monument, fence, or other erection, 
or for the planting and cultivation of trees, shrubs 
or plants in or around any lot, or for improving 
the said premises in any other manner or form. 



200 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

consistent with the purposes for which said Cem- 
etery is established, according to the terms of 
such grant, donation or bequest, and whenever 
any such grant, donation or bequest, or any depo- 
site shall be made by the proprietor of any lot in 
said Cemetery, for the annual repair, preservation 
or embellishment of such lot and the erections 
thereon, the said commissioners may give to such 
proprietor, or his representative, an agreement or 
obligation, in such form, and upon such terms and 
conditions as they may establish, binding them- 
selves and their successors to preserve and keep 
in repair said lot forever, or for such period as 
may be agreed on. 

Sect. 2. Any sums of money, so received by said 
commissioners, shall be invested by the city treas- 
urer of Roxbury, under the direction of said com- 
missioners, in public stocks, or mortgages of real 
estate, and all such property received under the 
provisions of the foregoing section (unless other 
provision is made by the terms of any such grant, 
donation or bequest) shall be made under the 
charge of said city treasurer, but shall always re- 
main separate from and independent of any other 
moneys or property belonging to the city of Rox- 
bury, and free from the control of the city council. 
And the income of such fund or funds shall be re- 
ceived by said treasurer, subject to the order of 
said commissioners, and shall be appropriated by 
them in such manner as shall, in their opinion, 
best promote the purposes for which said grants, 
donations, bequest or deposites are made. 

Sect. 3. The city of Roxbury shall be respon- 
sible for the good faith of said commissioners and 
the treasurer of said city, in the execution of any 



APPENDIX. 201 

trust which they may assume pursuant to the fore- 
going provisions. But said commissioners shall 
not be liable to make any renewal or reconstruc- 
tion of any monument, or other erection, on any 
lots in said Cemetery, unless such liability shall 
be expressed in the agreement given by them as 
aforesaid, or in the terms and conditions under 
which they accept any grant, donation or bequest. 

Sect. 4. This act shall be void, unless the city 
council of Roxbury shall accept the same at a 
meeting of said council, called for that purpose, 
within thirty days after its passage. 

Sect. 5. This act shall take effect from and 
after its passage. 

[Approved by the Governor Feb. 25, 1852. Accepted ]>y 
the City Council.] 

The following order, tP carry into effect the 
last act, was passed by the city council, Aug. 27, 
1855. 

Ordered, That the city treasurer be, and he 
hereby is authorized and instructed to receive of 
the commissioners of Forest Hills Cemetery, any 
moneys which have or may be paid to them by 
persons wishing to have their lots in Forest Hills 
Cemetery taken care of by said commissioners, in 
accordance with an act relating to a public Ceme- 
tery in the city of Roxbury, passed February 25. 
1855. 

And the said treasurer is hereby instructed to 
pay to said commissioners, annually, in the month 
of January, interest on the money so received of 
them, until said money shall be invested by the 
said treasurer, in accordance with said act. 



202 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



AN ORDINANCE establishing the name of the Rural 
Cemetery. 

Be it ordained by the City Council of the City 
of Roxhury, as follows : 

Sect. 1. The Rural Cemetery, recently estab- 
lished by the City Council, shall be called and 
known by the name of "Forest Hills." 

Sect. 2. This ordinance shall take effect from 
and after its passage. 

[Passed July 3, 1848.] 



6. 



AN ORDINANCE prescribing the Form of Deeds to be exe- 
cuted for the conveyance of Lots in Forest Hills Cemetery. 

-Whereas, The commissioners of the Forest 
Hills Cemetery have prepared a form for the con- 
veyance of lots in said Cemetery, hereinafter set 
forth, and have advised that the same be approved 
and adopted by the city council, therefore 

Be it ordained by the City Council of the City 
of Roxbury^ as folloios : 

Sect. 1. The form of the deeds to be executed 
for the conveyance of lots in Forest Hills Ceme- 
tery, by the commissioners of said Cemetery, shall 
be as follows, viz. : 



APPENDIX. 203 

Know all Men by these Presents, That the 
City of Eoxbury, in the County of Norfolk, and 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in consideration 
of dollars, paid to it by , the re- 
ceipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, doth here- 
by grant, bargain, sell and convey to the said 



-, heirs and assigns, One Lot of Land in the 
Rural Cemetery in said Roxbury, called the Forest 

Hills Cemetery, situated on the way called , 

and the sole and exclusive right of burial of the 

dead therein : The said granted lot contains 

superficial square feet, and is numbered on 

the plan of said Cemetery, which is in the posses- 
sion of the Board of Commissioners having the 
care, superintendence and management thereof, 
and may be inspected by the said grantee, his 
heirs and assigns, at all reasonable times. To 
liave and to hold the aforegranted premises unto 

the said , heirs and assigns forever; 

hut subject to the restrictions, limitations and con- 
ditions, and with the privileges following, viz. : 

First, That the proprietors of the said lot shall 
have the right to enclose the same with a wall or 
fence, not exceeding one foot in thickness, which 
may be placed on the adjoining land of the said 
city, exterior to the said lot. 

Second. That the said lot shall not be used for 
any other purpose than as a place of burial for 
the dead ; and no trees within the lot or border 
shall be cut down or destroyed, without the con- 
sent of the said commissioners. 

Third. That the proprietors of said lot shall 
liave the right to erect monuments, cenotaphs or 
stones, commemorative of the dead ; or to culti- 
vate trees, shrubs or plants in the same. 



204 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

Fourth. That the proprietor of said lot shall 
erect, at his own expense, suitable landmarks of 
stone or iron at the corners thereof, and shall 
cause the number thereof to be legibly and per- 
manently marked on the premises ; and if the pro- 
prietor shall omit for thirty days after notice to 
erect such landmarks and to mark the number, 
the commissioners shall have authority to cause 
the same to be done at the expense of said pro- 
prietor. 

Fifth. That if any trees or shrubs in said lot 
shall become in any way detrimental to the adja- 
cent lots or avenues, or dangerous or inconvenient, 
it shall be the duty of said commissioners for the 
time being, to enter into said lot and remove said 
trees or shrubs, or such parts thereof as are thus 
detrimental, dangerous or inconvenient. 

Sixth. That if any monument or efEgy, ceno- 
taph, or other structure whatever, or any inscrip- 
tion, be placed in or upon the said lot, which shall 
be determined by a majority of the said commis- 
sioners for the time being, to be offensive or im- 
proper, the said commissioners, or a majority of 
them, shall have the right and it shall be their 
duty to enter upon said lot and remove said offen- 
sive or improper object or objects. 

Seventh. No fence shall, at any time, be erected 
or placed in or around said lot, the materials or 
design of which shall not first have been approved 
by said commissioners, or a committee of them. 

Eighth. No tomb shall be constructed or al- 
lowed within the bounds of the Cemetery, unless 
by special permission of the said Board of Com- 
missioners, and in such places and in such manner 
as the commissioners shall direct. And no pro- 



APPENDIX. 205 

prietor shall suffer the remains of any person to 
l3e deposited within the bounds of his lot for hire. 

Ninth. The said lot shall be indivisible ; and 
upon the death of the grantee, the devisee of said 
lot, or the heir at law, shall be entitled to all the 
privileges of the original grantee ; and if there be 
more than one devisee or heir at law, the said 
Board of Commissioners shall designate which ol' 
said devisees or heirs at law shall then exercise 
the right of using said lot, which designation shall 
continue in force until by death or removal, or 
other sufficient cause, another designation shall 
become necessary; and in making such designa- 
tion said commissioners shall, as far as they con- 
veniently may, give the preference to males over 
females, and to proximity of blood and priority of 
age ; having due regard, however, to proximity of 
residence. 

Tenth. The said lot shall be holden subject to 
all by-laws, rules and regulations made and to be 
made by the said Board of Commissioners, in pur- 
suance of authority granted to them in and by any 
act or acts of the Commonwealth of Massachu- 
setts. 

And the said City of Roxbury hereby covenants 

to and with the said , heirs and assigns, 

that the said city is lawfully seized in fee simple 
of the aforegranted premises, and of the ways 
leading to the same from the highway, that the 
granted premises are free from all incumbrances, 
that the said city hath good right to sell and 

convey the same to the said , in the 

manner and for the purposes aforesaid, and will 

warrant and defend the same unto the said 

, heirs and assigns forever. 



206 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

In Witness whereof^ The said city of Roxbury 

hath caused these presents to be signed by 

, the Chairman of the said Board of Com- 
missioners, to be countersigned by , 

their Secretary, and , the Treasurer of 

the said city, and to be sealed with its common 

seal, this day of , in the year of our 

Lord eighteen hundred and . 

Signed, sealed and delivered in presence of 



, Chairman. 

Countersigned, , Secretary. 

, City Treasurer. 



City of Roxbury. City Clerk's Office, , 18 — . 

I hereby certify that the foregoing Deed has 
been received, entered and recorded in this office, 
in the book provided for the purpose, being Book 

No. , and page No. . 

, City Clerk. 

Sect. 2. All deeds executed in conformity to 
the preceding section, shall be signed by the 
Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of 
Forest Hills Cemetery, and countersigned by their 
Secretary and the City Treasurer, and shall have 
the City Seal affixed thereto. 

Sect. 3. Said deeds shall be recorded by the 
City Clerk in a book provided for that purpose, 
and to be kept in his office. 

Sect. 4. This ordinance shall take effect from 
and after its passage. 

[Passed January 22, 1849.] 



APPENDIX. 207 



7. 



ORDER OF PROCESSION 

at the Consecration of the Cemetery at Forest Hills, 
June 28, 1848. 

City Marshal. 

Music — the Boston Brass Band. 

His Honor the Mayor, and Orator. 

The Officiating Clergy. 

Board of Commissioners. 

Board of Aldermen. 

City Clerk, Clerk Common Council, Treasurer. 

President of the Common Council. 

Members of the Common Council. 

School Committee. 

The Reverend Clergy. 

Past Mayor. 

Past Members of the Board of Aldermen. 

Past Members of the Common Council. 

Representatives of the City in the General Court, 

and Senators of Norfolk. 

Past Selectmen of the Town of Roxbury. 

Municipal Authorities of Boston 

and other adjoining cities and towns. 

Board of Assessors. 

Overseers of the Poor. 

Consulting Physicians, and Physician and 

Superintendent of the Almshouse. 

Chief and Assistant Engineers 

of the Fire Department. 

Officers of the Fire Department. 

Teachers of the Public Schools. 

Ward Officers. Citizens. 



!08 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



8. 



Extent and Cost of Land. 

. AREA. COST. 

03 

(X> . ax 

u to 73 

^ & 2 

First purchase of Mr. Seaverns, 56 3 37 $19,944,98 

Purchase of Mr. Parkmson, . 14 2 13 7,949.69 

Second purchase of Mr. Seaverns, 32 2 36 9,000.00 



Whole area, . . . 104 1 6 $36,894.67 



9. 

Debt for Land. 

For first purchase of Seaverns land, 
payable Aug. 1, 1857, with in- 
terest at 6 per cent $19,944.98 

For land purchased of Mr. Parkin- 
son, payable July 1, 1854, with 
interest at 6 per cent 7,606.57 

For second purchase of Mr. Seav- 
erns, payable in 1858, '59, '60, 
'61, '62, 9,000.00 



Total, .... $36,551.55 

[The sum of $343.12 was paid to Mr. Parkinson at the 
time of the purchase, which makes the entire cost $36,894.67, 
as stated above.] 



APPENDIX. 209 

Of the debt there has been paid, 

from proceeds of sales of lots at 

different times, $11,551.55 

Leaving the debt outstanding, Aug. 

1855, 25,000.00 



10. 

The Receipts for lots, grading lots, graves, etc., 
for the several years since the establishment of 
the Cemetery to February, 1855, and the Expen- 
ditures for improvements, etc., including interest 
on the debt during the same time, are as follows : 



the year ending 


Receipts. 


Expenditures. 


b. 1, 1849, 


$11,660.69 


$11,200.88 


" 1850, 


11,961.11 


11,289.33 


'' 1851, 


15,876.05 


15,708.37 


" 1852, 


15,800.62 


15,436.49 


" 1853, 


20,984.81 


17,043.32 


" . 1854, 


26,118.74 


21,167.24 


" 1855, 


25,513.99 


24,193.29 


Total . . 


. $127,916.01 


$116,038.92 



Payments during the same period, on account 
of the original purchase-money, $11,894.67. 



210 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



11. 

[See Appendix 4,] 

Form of Receipt for perpetual Repair of Lots. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. 

No. 

Whereas We, the Board of Commissioners of 
Forest Hills Cemetery in Roxbury, in the county 

of Norfolk, have this day received of 

the sum of : 

Now therefore, We, the said commissioners, 

hereby agree with the said , that we 

will pay the said sum to the treasurer of the city 

of Roxbury, to be invested by him, the 

of said sum to be applied by us, the said commis- 
sioners, and our successors, in pursuance of an 
act of the Legislature passed February 25, 1852, 
for the repair, preservation and embellishment of 
Lot No. in said Cemetery. 

In witness whereof. We have hereunto set our 

hands and seals this day of , in the year 

of our Lord eighteen hundred and 



12. 
REGULATIONS FOR VISITORS. 

Respect the Garden of the Dead. 

1. No horse is to be left unfastened without 

a keeper. 

2. No horse is to be fastened except at the 

posts provided for this purpose. 



V APPENDIX. 211 

3. No dog is admissible. 

4. No firearms are to be discharged. 

5. Persons are prohibited from gathering flow- 

ers or shrubS; or breaking branches from 
trees, shrubs and plants. 

6. No horse is allowed to pass over the paths. 

7. Persons are prohibited from writing upon 

or defacing any monument, fence or other 
structure. 

8. No vehicle is to be driven at a rate faster 

than a walk. 

9. All persons arc prohibited from walking over 

the burial lots, the adjoining sodded or 
cultivated spaces, or the borders of the 
avenues and paths. 

10. All persons who shall make unseemly noises 

or conduct themselves in any manner un- 
suitably to the sacred purposes to which 
the grounds are devoted, will be excluded. 

11. The superintendent is authorized to remove 

all persons who violate these regulations, 
and trespassers are liable to prosecution. 



13, 



The number of tombs in private lots is forty. 
They are constructed entirely below the surface, 
and so covered with earth and turf that the lots 
present the appearance of those in which there 
are no tombs. The cost of tombs constructed in 
this way varies considerably, according to the 
nature of the ground, as well as the size and in- 



212 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

ternal construction. Tombs have been erected 
costing from $150 to $600. 

In some lots there are " Catacombs/' or brick 
graves, constructed at much less cost. 

The number of lots enclosed with iron fences 
is 297, and with hedges 25. The cost of the iron 
fences varies from $75 to $250, according to the 
style and the size of the lot. The average cost 
of them is estimated at $125. The stone posts 
which are set in all the lots when prepared, are 
not included in this estimate. 

The number of monuments erected is 185, not 
including many small slabs, scrolls and other mon- 
umental devices. The cost of these monuments 
rano-es from $50 to $1800. 



14. 



AVENUES. 

Aspen leads from White Oak to Willow avenue, between 
Mount Dearborn and Eliot Hill. 

Beech leads from Canterbury street gate to Lake Dell 
avenue. 

Cedar leads from Rock Maple to Elm avenue, east of 
Mount Warren. 

Cherry leads from Willow, near Fountain Hill, to White 
Oak avenue, near the southern entrance. 

Chestnut leads from Egyptian gate to Rock Maple avenue. 

Cypress leads from Beech to Larch avenue, over Cypress 
Hill. 

Elm leads from Fountain avenue to Canterbury street gate. 

Fountain leads from Juniper to Rock Maple and Willow 
avenue, by Lake Hibiscus and towards the Field of Machpelah. 

Hemlock leads from White Oak, near Eliot Hills, to Foun- 
tain avenue, on the low ground south of the terrace. 



APPENDIX. 213 

Juniper leads from Cherry, near the southern entrance, to 
Fountain avenue. 

Lake Dell leads from Fountain round Lake Hibiscus to 
Elm avenue. 

Larch leads from Fountain avenue to Cypress Hill. 

Linden leads from Mount AYarren to Mount Warren ave- 
nue, on Mount Warren. 

Locust leads from Egyptian gate to Mount Warren avenue. 

Magnolia leads from Chestnut avenue to the summit of 
Consecration Hill. 

Mount Warren leads from White Oak and Walnut to 
White Oak avenue, around the top of Mount AYarren, and 
down the south side. 

Mulberry leads from Egyptian gate to the junction of 
^Mount AYarren and Walnut avenues, west of Mount AYarren. 

Nesutan leads from AYhite Oak avenue round Eliot Monu- 
ment Hill. 

Pine leads from White Oak to !Mount Warren avenue, up 
the west side of Mount AVarren. 

Red Oak leads from Willow to AA^'hite Oak avenue, near 
the foot and west of Mount Dearborn. 

Rock Maple leads from the junction of Fountain and 
AVhite Oak, to the junction of Tupelo and Cedar avenues, 
southeast of Mount Warren. 

Spruce leads from the junction of Fountain and Juniper 
avenues past the Field of Machpelah to Lake Dell avenue. 

Tupelo leads from Chestnut to Rock Maple avenue, pass- 
ing the Receiving Tomb. 

Walnut leads from Tupelo to the junction of ^Mount War- 
ren and Mulberry avenues, south of Snowflake Cliff. 

White Pine leads from White Oak, near the southern en- 
trance, to Cherry avenue, on Fountain Hill. 

AVillow leads from W^hite Oak to Fountain avenue, south 
of Mount Dearborn. 

White Oak leads from Walk Hill street gate to Rock 
Maple avenue. 

Yew leads from Magnolia avenue to the summit of Chapel 
Hill. 

PATHS. 

Ailanthus leads from AYhite Pine to Cherry avenue. 
Alpine leads from Althea path to Cherry avenue. 
Althea leads from Hemlock to Fountain avenue. 
Amaranth leads from Cherry to Hemlock avenue. 
Andromeda leads from Cranberry path to Locust avenue. 



214 FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 

Anemone leads from Hemlock avenue to Eglantine patli. 

Aster leads from Hemlock to White Oak avenue. 

Azalea leads from Mount Warren to Mt. Warren avenue. 

Barberry leads from Columbine path to Locust avenue. 

Bellflower leads from Hemlock to Cherry avenue. 

Bignonia leads from Harebell path to Mount Warren ave- 
nue, opposite Pine. 

Chrysanthemum leads from Fountain to Hemlock avenue. 

Clematis leads from White Oak to White Oak avenue, at 
the north base of Eliot Hills. 

Columbine leads from Egyptian Gate to Locust avenue. 

Cowslip leads from White Oak avenue to junction of 
Sweet Brier and Violet paths on Mount Dearborn. 

Cranberry leads from Mount Warren to White Oak avenue. 

Crocus leads from Snowflake to Mistletoe path. 

Eglantine leads from Hemlock to White Oak avenue. 

Elder leads from Chestnut to ^Magnolia, on the southern 
side of Consecration Hill. 

Eliot Hills leads from White Oak to Nesutan avenue. 

Geranium leads from Hemlock to White Oak Avenue. 

Grape leads from Mount Warren to Tupelo avenue. 

Green Brier leads from White Oak avenue, at its junction 
with Eliot Hills path, on the north side of Eliot Hills. 

Harebell leads from Grape path to Mount Warren avenue. 

Hawthorn leads from White Oak avenue to Eliot Hills 
path. 

Hazel leads from Egyptian gate, near Mulberry, to Tupelo 
avenue. 

Heliotrope leads from Cherry to White Oak avenue. 

Holly leads from Red Oak to White Oak avenue. 

Hyacinth leads from Geranium path to White Oak avenue. 

Ivy leads from Mount Warren to Pine avenue. 

Jasmine leads from Green Brier to Hawthorn path. 

Kalmia leads from Linden to Linden avenue. 

Laurel leads from Linden to Mount Warren avenue. 

Lichen leads from Cherry round the top of Fountain Hill. 

Lilac leads from Juniper to Hemlock avenue. 

Lily leads from Chestnut. 

Lotus leads from Larch to Lake Dell avenue. 

Lupine leads from Juniper to Hemlock avenue. 

May-Flower leads from near the southern entrance of 
White Oak, south of Eliot Hills, to Nesutan avenue. 

Mistletoe leads from Mulberry avenue to Hazel path. 

Moss leads from White Oak to Nesutan avenue. 

Myrtle leads from Red Oak to White Oak avenue. 



APPENDIX. 



215 



Narcissus leads from Myrtle to White Oak avenue. 

Oleander leads from Lupine to Verbena path. 

Primrose leads from "^V'hite Oak avenue to the junction of 
Sweet Brier path, on the summit of Mount Dearborn. 

Rhodora leads from Mount Warren avenue to Mount War- 
ren avenue. 

Rose leads from White Oak to Linden avenue. 

Rosemary leads from Hemlock avenue to Bellflower path. 

Snowflake leads from Walnut avenue to Mistletoe path. 

Sumach leads from Mount Warren to Harebell path. 

Sweet Brier leads from AYillow avenue, near Fountain 
Dell, to summit of Mount Dearborn. 

Tulip leads from Hemlock to Fountain avenue. 

Verbena leads from Juniper to Hemlock avenue. 

Vibernum leads from White Oak to Nesutan avenue. 

Violet leads from Red Oak avenue to the junction of Sweet 
Brier and Cowslip paths, on Mount Dearborn. 

Wabon leads from near Green Brier path, round Eliot 
Monument Hill to Moss path. 

Woodbine leads from Mount Warren avenue to Linden 
avenue. 

NOTE. 

Nesiitnn.— The name of the Indian who aided the Apostle F.liot in learn- 
ing the Indian language, and in translating the Bible into that language. 

Wabon was the Indian Chief at Nonantum Hill, in Watertown, where 
Eliot established his first Indian Church and School. 



15. 



PROPRIETORS OF LOTS. 



Propri tors. 


No. 


Adams, Adoniram J. 


11 


Adams, Nathaniel 


872 


Albert, J. M. 


34 


Alexander, Ebenezer 


891 


Allen, C. F. J. 


51G 


Allen, Frederick D 


G95 


Allen, Isaac 


188 


Allison, John W. 


831 



Situation. 

White Oak avenue 
Lupine path 
White Oak avenue 
Lilac path 
Bellflower path 
Cherry avenue 
White Pine avenue 
Lilac path 



216 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



Proprietors, 

Ames, Robert W. 
Amory, Elizabeth 
Amory, James S. 
Anderson, Robert P. 
Anderson, Rufus 
Andrews, Alonzo 
Andrews, Henry R. 
Appleton, William, Jr. 
Arnold, Elizabeth 
Arnold, Mattrom Y. 
Ashley, Ossian D. 
Atkinson, Andrew 
Austin, Thomas 405 & 

Ayres, Benjamin F. 
Ayres, John 
Babbitt, Isaac 
Baeal, Thomas 
Bacon, Horace 
Bacon, Jacob 
Bacon, John F. 
Bacon, William, Boston 
Bacon, William, Roxlmnj 
Bachelder, Josiah G. 
Backall, William K. 
Badger, George W. 
Bailey, Adams 
Baker, John 
Baldwin, Luke 
Ballard, Francis G. 
Barker, Edward H. 
Barker, Theodore T. 
Barnard, Jonas 
Barnard, Lucinda 
Barnes, James 
Barnes, John 
Barnes, Loring B. 
Barney, Sarah B. 
Barry, Charles 
Barry, James 
Barry, AVilliam 
Bartlett, Dennis S. 
Bartlett, Henry 
Bartlett, Pliny 
Barton, Jabez W. 



No. Situation. 

358 Eliot Hills path 

169 Violet path 

854 Walnut avenue 
811 Linden avenue 
130 Narcissus path 

238 Aspen avenue 

165 White Oak avenue 

480 Mount Warren avenue 

224 White Oak avenue 

485 Rosemary path 

762 Althea path 

755 Cherry avenue 

414 Aster path 
691 Juniper avenue 
282 Cherry avenue 
546 Bellflower path 

186 White Oak avenue 
381 Cherry avenue 
369 Hemlock avenue 
592 Sweet Brier path 

51 Cherry avenue 

380 Cherry avenue 

101 White Oak avenue 

200 Willow avenue 

187 Clematis path 
561 Laurel path 

342 White Oak avenue 

881 Linden avenue 

633 Chrysanthemum path 

512 Clematis path 

415 Geranium path 

855 Verbena path 

708 White Oak avenue 

427 White Pine avenue 

29 White Oak avenue 

929 Ivy path 

686 Hawthorn path 

239 Geranium path 
126 Narcissus path 
353 Jasmine path 
907 Fountain avenue 
204 Aspen avenue 

195 Mount Warren avenue 

61 Cherry avenue 



APPENDIX. 



217 



Proprietors. 

Basford, Henry 
Basto, INIason 
Bates, Ruth 
Bazin, George W. 
Beal, Levi 
Beal, Wilder, 
Bean, Aaron II. 
Beck, Lewis 
Bell, Amory 
Bender, John 
Bicknell, Joseph 
Billings, George 
Bills, Harriet 
rinney, John 
Bisbee, Thomas 
Bixbv, S. Clarke 
Bixby, Philip AV. 
Blake, Charles 
Blake Samuel P. 
Blake, Jesse 
Blake, John H. 
Blanchard, A. R. Mrs. 
Blanchard, Charles 
Blanchard, Charles H. 
Blanchard, William 
Blaney, Charles P. 
Blendell, Sophia M. 
Boardman, Janet 
Bodge, Mary L. 
Bond, Sewall B. 
Borrowscale, John 
Bosworth, George W. 
Bowdlear, Samuel 
Boylston & Prince 
Bradford, Charles F. 
Bradford, William B. 
Bray, Charles F. 
Bray, Edgar W. 
Bray ton, John D. 
Brewer, Nathaniel 
Brewer, Otis 
Briggs, Nathaniel 0. 
Briml)locom, Nathaniel 
Brims, Daniel 



No. SitHatio7i. 

83 Red Oak avenue 

910 Tulip path 

24 ]\Iount AVarren avenue 

280 Eliot Hills path 

G02 Hyacinth path 

45 Cherry avenue 

628 White Oak avenue 

490 White Pine avenue 
304 AVhite Oak avenue 
626 Juniper avenue 
753 Juniper avenue 
341 Hawthorn patli 
372 Tupelo avenue 

491 White Pine avenue 
501 Rosemary path 
510 White Pine avenue 
961 Larch avenue 

10 White Oak avenue 

137 Hawthorn path 

153 Hemlock avenue 

698 Althea path 

161 Red Oak avenue 

643 Holly path 

738 Cherry avenue 

106 WilloAv avenue 

114 Narcissus path 

447 Aster path 

926 Althea path 

569 White Pine avenue 

174 Myrtle path 

893 Fountain avenue 

593 Eglantine path 

571 White Pine avenue 

505 Cherry avenue 

104 Willow avenue 

815 Kalmia path 

334 White Oak avenue 

335 White Oak avenue 
810 Lilac path 

504 Aster path 

573 White Oak avenue 

720 Mount Warren avenue 

919 Mayflower path 

140 Green Brier path 



218 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



Proprietors. 


No, 


Situation . 


Brown, Abigail 


570 


Eglantine path 


Brown, Benjamin, Jr. 


625 


INlount Warren avenue 


Brown, B. F. 


503 


Rosemary path 


Brown, George, Boston 


297 




Brown, George, Roxhury 




One lot 


Brown, Henry 


849- 


Lilac path 


Brown, Joseph 


492 


White Pine avenue 


Brown, Mary 


848 


Lilac path 


Brown, W. H. 


154 


Aster path 


Brownell, Uriah T. 


13 


White Oak avenue 


Browning, Mary E. 


328 


White Oak avemie 


Bryant, Charles B. 


970 


Lotus path 


Buffinton, Jonathan 


318 


Cherry avenue 


BuJBford, J. H. 


406 


Aster path 


Bumstead, John 




One lot 


Buoncore, Lewis 


• 696 


Clematis path 


Burbank, Alonzo 


243 


Geranium path 


Burchstead, Benjamin 


539 


Eglantine path 


Burckes, Catherine 


47 


Cherry avenue 


Burnham, T. 0. H. P. 


336 


Cherry avenue 


Burrage, William 


877 


Moss path 


Burroughs, Henry 


635 


Chrysanthemum path 


Bursley, Henry 


462 


Hyacinth path 


Burt, Laban 


514 


White Pine avenue 


Butler, Nathaniel 


533 


Clematis path 
Aster path 


Byram, Robert J. 


416 


Byron, Joseph 


250 


Aspen avenue 


Calder, John W. 


706 


Geranium path 


Callahan, Mary 


777 


Clematis path 


Calrow, John G. 


373 


Mount Warren avenue 


Campbell, Benjamin F. 


177 


Red Oak avenue 


Campbell, Jeremiah R. 


805 


Lilac path 


Campbell, R. C. 


220 


Heliotrope path 


Carey, Isaac 


181 


White Oak avenue 


Carlisle, George W. 


694 


Clematis path 


Carter, Caroline W. 


407 


Mount Warren avenue 


Carter, James W. 


915 


Mayflower path 


Carter, John, Jr. 


916 


Mayflower path 


Carter, Nelson 


87 


Heliotrope path 


Cass, Moses 


560 


Eglantine path 


Chadbourn, Seth 


442 


Cherry avenue 


Chamberlain, Dexter H. 


448 


G&-anium path 


Chapin, David 


387 


Eglantine path 


Chapin George A . 


545 


Bellflower path 



APPENDIX. 



219 



Proprietors. No, 

Chessman, Nancy W. 804 

Child, Isaac 598 

Child, AVilliam C. 620 

Childs, Albert 728 

Ohilds, Nathaniel R. 727 

Chubbuck, S. E. 17G 

^ark, Alexander 115 

Clark, Helen M., Mrs. 409 

Clark, Joseph W. 413 
Clark, Moses 241 and 242 

Clark, William 466 

Clarke, C. S. 754 

Clarke, Frances C. 749 

Clarke, John J. 748 

Cochrane, William A. 968 
Codman, Henry 

Coffin, Gardner S, 256 

Child, Elizabeth 952 

Cleary, George T. 950 

Cloutman, John S. 898 

Cobb, Calvin C. 933 

Cole, William 636 

Comins, Linus B 85 

Conant, Caleb A. 670 

Conant, Ezra 669 

Cook, Betsy 237 

Cook, John V. 856 

Cooley, William 438 

Coolidge, John T. 655 

Coolidge, Samuel 616 

Copeland, Benjamin F. 49 

Copeland, Charles 50 

Copeland, Franklin 138 
Copeland, William H. C. 652 

Corey, Barney 659 

Cork, AVilliam D. 883 

Cornel, AValter 614 

Cornelius, Henry 875 
Cotting, Benjamin E. 

Cotting, Caroline M. 531 

Cowan, William H. 25 

Cracklin, Joseph 464 

Crafts, Ebenezer 850 

Craffin, Daniel 538 



Situation, 
Lilac path 
Azalea path 
Chrysanthemum path 
Juniper avenue 
Juniper avenue 
Red Oak avenue 
White Oak avenue 
Geranium path 
White Pine avenue 
White Oak avenue 
Clematis path 
Grape path 
Althea path 
Althea path 
Fountain avenue 

One lot 
Aspen avenue 
Fountain avenue 
Fountain avenue 
Lupine path 
Verbena path 
Mount Warren avenue 
Red Oak avenue 
Grape path 
Grape path 
White Oak avenue 
Verbena path 
Viburnum path 
Chrysanthemum path 
!Mount Warren avenue 
Cheri-y avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Hawthorn path 
Azalea path 
Chrysanthemum path 
Juniper avenue 
White Pine avenue 
Moss path 

One lot 

Cherry avenue 
Geranium path 
Nesutan avenue 
Eglantine path 



220 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERYc 



Proprietors. No. 

Crane, Friend 671 

Crichton, George H 418 

Croft, James T. 945 
Crossman, Nathaniel W. 210 

Crowell, Henry G 509 

Cummins, Maria F. 895 

Cummings, Charles 721 

Cumston, William 356 

Cunningham, Andrew 134 

Cunningham, John A. 526 

Cunningham, Lucy 451 

Cunningham, Sarah E. 911 

Curtis, Francis 35 

Curtis, George S. 820 

Curtis, Henry 594 

Curtis, Joseph H. 818 
Curtis, J. H. and George S. 819 

Curtis Nathaniel 941 

Curtis, Nelson 228 

Curtis, Samuel S. 604 

Curtis, Sarah 486 

Cushing, Sarah P. 896 

Gushing, Zenas 607 

Dale, George L. 960 

Dalton, Peter Roe 846 

Daniell, Josiah N. 128 

Davenport, George 459 

Davenport, Henry 460 

Davenport, Mary C, 399 

Davis, David P. 271 

Davis, Elizabeth 879 

Davis, Ezra 452 

Davis, George A. 663 

Davis, Gilman 160 

Davis, Horatio 294 

Davis, Isaac 639 

Davis, AVilliam H. 212 

Davis, AVilliam H. 674 & 675 

Davis, William H. 676 & 677 

Day, Moses 193 

Dean, Amos J. 450 

Dean, EnosW 511 

Dearborn, H. A. S. 267 

Dearborn, W. L. 268 



Situation. 

Cherry avenue 
Geranium path 
Fountain avenue 
Clematis path 
Anemone path 
Althea path 
Hyacinth path 
Sweet Brier path 
Hawthown path 
Geranium path 
Aster path 
Iris path 

White Oak avenue 
Pine avenue 
Eglantine path 
Pine avenue 
Pine avenue 
Ivy path 

White Oak avenue 
Chrysanthemum path 
Clematis path 
Ivy path 
Ailanthus path 
Larch avenue 
Lilac path 
Narcissus path 
Clematis path 
Clematis path 
Aspen avenue 
Mount Warren avenue 
Lupine path 
Geranium path 
Az ilea path 
Retl Oak Avenue 
Mount Warren avenue 
Wabon path 

Laurel path 
Woodljine path 
Chrysanthemum path 
White Pine avenue 
Mount Warren avenue 
Sweet Brier path 
Sweet Brier path 





APPENDIX. ' 


Proprietors. 


No. 


Situation. 


Deblois, M. and C, 


778 


Juniper avenue 


Defrees, William H. 


774 


Juniper avenue 


Dexter, Georo;e N. 


921 


Tulip path 


Dexter, George S. 


552 


Laurel path 


Dexter, Samuel A. 


715 


Linden avenue 


Dickinson, Jos. F. 


158 


Holly path 


Dickson, Alexander 


263 


Amaranth path 


Ditson, Oliver 


610 


Cherry avenue 


Dorr, E. Ritchie 


699 


Althea path 


Dorr, Joseph 




One lot 


Dorr, Nathaniel 


33 


AVillow avenue 


Dove, Jolin 


162 


Red Oak avenue 


Drew, AVilliam 


434 


Aster path 


Drinkwater, Josiah 


53 


Aster path 


Drury, Gardner P. 


718 


Woodbine path 


Dudley, Charles H 


722 


Juniper avenue 


Dudley, Ebenezer 


258 


Willow avenue 


DudloV, Eliza 


91 


White Oak avenue 


Dudl(!y. Ephraim M 


293 


Sweet Brier path 


DudloV, H. A. S. D. 


22 


White Oak avenue 


Dudlev, Joseph W. 


21 


White Oak avenue 


Dudley, Sarah W. 


23 


White Oak avenue 


Dumaresq, Philip 


287 


Sweet Brier path 


Dim])ar, 0. S. 


149 


Violet path 


Danl>ar, David A. 


145 


Aspen avenue 


Duncan, Archibald 


946 


Fountain avenue 


Dupec, Lewis, heirs of 


697 


Hyacinth path 


Durkoe, Silas 


590 


Aster path 


Dwight, Edmund 


377 


Walnut avenue 


Dwight, Mary 


701 


Althea path 


Dwig'it, Thomas 


479 


]\lount Warren avenue 


Eastliam, William W. 


913 


Tulip path 


Eastman, Sally 


309 


iMount Warren avenue 


Eaton, William G. 


291 


INIount Warren avenue 


Eddy, James 


864 


White Oak avenue 


Edwards, Joseph B. 


874 


Lupine path 


Eldridge, John S. 


779 


Linden avenue 


EllicDtt, Joseph P. 


392 


]\lount Warren avenue 


Ellieott, Joseph P. 


712 


Jjinden avenue 


Elliot, Charles E. 


283 


AV^hite Pine avenue 


Ellis, Charles 


306 


Kalmia path 


Ellis, Charles M. 


307 


Kalmia path 


Emerson, John S. 


7 


White Oak avenue 


Evans, Harriet F. 


800 


Linden avenue 



221 



222 



FOBEST HILLS CEMETERY 



Proprir.tors. 


No. 


Situation, 


Everett, Oliver C. 


588 


Cherry avenue 


Everett, Otis 599 and 600 


Eglantine path 


Everson, George H. 


641 


Chrysanthemum path 


Farnum, Henry 


421 


Aspen avenue 


Farrington, Ebenezer T. 


457 


Hyacinth path 


Faunce, Calvin B. 


458 


Clematis path 


Faunce, George B. 


290 


Mount Warren avenue 


Faunce, Stephen 


347 


Green Brier path 


Faxon, Oren 


9 


White Oak avenue 


Fay, Charles T. 


904 


Lupine path 


Fay, Cyrus H. 


299 


Mount A^arren avenue 


Fearing, Lincoln 


316 


Laurel path 


Federhen, John, Jr. 


646 


Azalea path 


Felling, James 


303 


Hemlock avenue 


Feyhl, John 


548 


Eglantine path 


Field, Alexander H. 


244 


Cherry avenue 


Field, Ozias 


58 


Amaranth path 


Field, Pearson H. 


801 


Linden avenue 


Fish, Ilosea S. 


943 


Mount Warren avenue 


Fisher, AVarren 


322 


Grape path 


Fisk, Bela S. 


473 


Belltlower path 


Fitzgerald, Stephen 


704 


Juniper avenue 


Flagg, Jacob B. 


931 


Cypress avenue 


Fletcher, Robert 


974 


Ivy path 


Flint, Thomas 


424 


Aster path 


Floyd, Eliza 


88 


Cherry avenue 


Fobes, Edwin 


56 


White Pine avenue 


Forbes, John M. 


723 


Magnolia avenue 


Forbes, Margaret 


725 


Magnolia avenue 


Forbes, Robert B. 


724 


Magnolia avenue 


Ford, Eliza 


456 


Aspen avenue 


Foster, Henrietta 


582 


Aster path 


Foster, Wm. Hammond 


542 


Laurel path 


FoAvle, Isaac 


102 


White Oak avenue 


Fowle, Joshua B. 


412 


Aster path 


Fowle, Parker 


586 


Wood])ine path 


Fowle, William P. 


587 


Wood)>ine path 


Fowler, Edmund M. 


139 


Hawthorn path 


Francis, Ebenezer 889 & 890 


Tulip path 


Franks, Dolly G. 


121 


White Oak avenue 


Frederick, Jabez 


332 


White Oak avenue 


Frencli, x\bram 


876 


Moss path 


French, Charles 


930 


Larch avenue 


French, Jonathan 


329 


Amaranth path 



APPENDIX. 



223 



proprietors. 

French /Jonathan 
Frost, AVilliam C. 
Frothingham, E. L. 
Fuller, Albert 
Fuller, David S. 
Fullerton, Alexander 
Fussell, John 
Gage, John 
Gardner, Robert 
Gaston, Alexander 
Gates, Martin L. 
Gay, Aaron R. 
Gay, Samuel S. 
Gay, (leorge Mrs. 
George, Cireenleaf C. 
Gilbert, Lemuel 
Glines, Nathan H. 
Glover, Lewis J. 
Glover, Thomas 
Goodnow, R. D. 
Gordon, Robert 
Gore, AVatson, Jr. 
Gorhain, James L. 
Gould, Joseph D. 
Gray, Alfred T. 
Gray, John H. 
Green, Abraham M. 
Green, Daniel B. 
Greenough, David S. 
Gregerson, George 
Gregg, Mary 
Griggs, George S. 
Griggs, John H. 
Griggs, William H. 
Groom, Thomas 
Guild, Samuel 
Guild, AVilliam IL 
Gwynne, Samuel 
Had ley, Jane 
Hale, Daniel L. 
Hall, Charles G. 
Hall, Henry A. 
Hall, Hiram 
Halliburton, George M. 



No. Situntion. 

402 Cherry avenue 

257 Green Brier path 

861 Lilac path 

713 Hyacinth path 

197 Clematis path 

868 Pine avenue 

834 Tulip path 

245 Geranium path 

585 Chrysanthemum path 

472 AVhito Pino avenue 

572 Eliot Hills path 

288 AVhite Oak avenue 

289 White Oak avenue 
417 Aster path 

591 Hyacinth path 

390 Mount AVarren avenue 

285 Aspen avenue 

761 Geranium path 

443 Cherry avenue 

18 AA^hite Oak avenue 

824 Lilac path 

229 AVhite Pine avenue 

100 Cherry avenue 

57 Amaranth path 

191 Mount AVarren avenue 

217 Cherry avenue 

828 Oleander path 

551 Aster path 
One lot 

5 White Oak avenue 

95 E[emlock avenue 

272 Mount AVarren avenue 

564 AVhite Pine avenue 

One lot 

292 INIount AVarren avenue 

640 AVabon path 

86 AVliite Oak avenue 

119 Aster path 

901 Fountain avenue 

903 Fountain avenue 

315 Cherry avenue 

969 Iris path 

30 Red Oak avenue 

.609 Hyacinth path 



224 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



Proprietors, 

Hamblen, David 
Hamilton, Edward 
Hammond, Stephen 
Hanson, John A. 
Hanson, John L. 
Hardwick, William 
Harlow, Georp;e 
Harrington, Ephraim, 
Harrington, Helen E. 
Harrington, Rebecca 
Harris, Luther M. 
Harris, Samuel D. 
Haskins, (jfeorge F. 
Haste, Eliza 
Hastings, Catherine E. 
Hastings, Joseph 
Hathorne, J. H. 
Haven, Calvin W. 
Hayes, Ephraim 
Hayes, Joshua 
Hazin, Charles 
Head, Charles Dudley 
Head, Edward F. 
Head, Francis 0. 
Heard, John J. 
Heath, JNIargaret 
Heath, Stephen 
Hemmenway, Benja. 
Hemmenway, Henry C. 
Hendee, Charles J. 
Hennessy, Richard 
Hentz, Frederic W. 
Hersey, Nathan 
He wins. Whiting 
Heyer, William A. 
Hickling, Charles 
Hiland, Ira 
Hill, Charles H 
Hill, David W. 
Hill, Hamilton A. 
Hill, Henry 
Hill, Samuel 
Hills, Samuel 
Hills, Sarah 



No. Situation. 

31 Willow avenue 

781 Juniper avenue 

338 Hawthorn path 

581 Woodbine path 

16 White Oak avenue 

471 White Pine avenue 

2 Bellflower path 

321 Grape path 

668 Mount Warren avenue 

667 Mount Warren avenue 

923 Larch avenue 

683 Chrysanthemum path 

611 Geranium path 

796 Oleander path _ 

751 Geranium path 

760 Juniper avenue 

364 Amaranth path 

182 White Oak avenue 

568 Eglantine path 

65 Willow avenue 

331 Eliot Hills path 

171 Violet path 

807 Mount Warren avenue 

173 Violet path 

132 Hawthorn path 

379 Geranium path 

732 Geranium path 

8 White Oak avenue 

580 Azalea path 

59 Cherry avenue 

94 Clematis path 

878 Lupine path 

15 White Oak avenue 

44 Cherry avenue 

650 Azalea path 

105 Willow avenue 

478 Aster path 

787 Juniper avenue 

166 White Oak avenue 

847 Lilac path 

525 Woodbine path , 

972 Ivy path 

965 Fountain avenue 
487 . Bellflower path 



APPENDIX. 



225 



Proprietors. No. 

Hilton, Celeste J. 909 

Hinckley, Aaron A. 822 

Hinckley, James H, 507 

Hinckley, Thomas F. 3G3 

Hitchcock, Henry 499 

Hobart, Mary AY. 167 

Hobart, Peter, Jr. 765 

Hobart, AYilliam H. 764 

Hodgdon, Luther 690 

Hodge, Thomas S. 703 

Holland, Thomas R. 108 

Holmes, Richard 226 

Homans, Milton, Jr. 771 

Hook, William R. M. 449 

Houghton, Caleb C. 925 

Houghton, Joseph 273 

Hovey, John 795 

Howe, B. Miles 797 

Howe, John 682 

Howe, M. A. D'Wolf 170 

Howes, Elisha 55 

Howes, O.sborn 508 

Howes, Willis 934 

Huckins, Francis 885 

Huckins, James H. W. 395 

Huflf, Owen 467 

Humphrey, W. A. 305 

Humphris, Edward, Jr. 6 

Hunnewell, Joseph W. 430 

Hunt, George H. 532 

Hunt, George, Mrs. 613 

Hunt, James 111 

Hunt, Sanford M. 549 

Hunter, William 253 

Hunting, Reuben 437 

Hunting, Thomas 836 

Huston, William R. 264 

Hutch ins, Ivory 610 

Hutchinson, Andrew B. 396 

Hyde, Jerusha 964 

Hyde, ]\L Smith 653 

Jackson, Eben 948 

Jackson, Jane 435 
Jackson, Samuel and Daniel 40 



Situation. 
Iris path 
Fountain avenue 
Eglantine path 
Geranium path 
Hyacinth path 
Red Oak avenue 
Althea path 
Althea path 
Juniper avenue 
Hyacinth path 
Narcissus path 
Willow avenue 
Oleander path 
Rosemary path 
Althea path 
White Oak avenue 
Althea path 
Oleander path 
Chrysanthemum path 
Violet path 
Cherry avenue 
Anemone path 
Nesutan avenue 
Tulip path 
Rosemary path 
Anomone path 
White Pine avenue 
White Oak avenue 
White Pine avenue 
Bellflower path 
Ailanthus path 
Red Oak avenue 
Anemone path 
Aspen avenue 
Clematis path 
Linden avenue 
White Oak avenue 
Geranium path 
Rosemary path 
Blount AVarren avenue 
Azalea path 
Fountain avenue 
Sweet Brier path 
Red Oak avenue 



226 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



Proprietors. 

Jacobs, Jane L. 
James, Elisha 
Jaquith, Augustus D. 
Jenkins, Henry T. 
Jenkins, Wealthy Ann 
Jenney, Nelson 
Johnson, Henry Augustus 
Jones, John B. 
Jordan, Charles 
Jordan, John T. 
Joyce, George F. 
Keith, Yfilliam 
Kendall, Charles S. 
Kennedy, Thomas J. W. 
Kenney, John 
Kettell, James 
Kettell, John 
Kettell, John-B- 
Keyes, Lucy S. 
Kibbee, Parley M. 
Kidder, H. P. 
Kieth, James M. 
Kingman, Abner 
Kingsbury, William B. 
Kingsley, Joseph 
Kinsley, N. P. 
Kinstlor, Conrad 
Kittredge, Alvah 156 & 
Kittredge, John D. 
Kramer, Matthias 
Krogman, S. B. 
Kuhn, Christian 
Ladd, Frederick P. 
Lamb, Reuben A, 
Lambert, Joseph 
Langley, Samuel 
Lawler, William 
Learned, Isaac M. 
Learock, John B. 
Leavens, S. Davis, heirs of 
Leavitt, David 
Lee, Nancy 
Lee, W, Raymond 
Leeds, John H. 



No. Situation. 

601 Ailanthus path 

705 Juniper avenue 

767 Juniper avenue 

658 Chrysanthemum path 

474 Bellflower path 

211 Aspen avenue 

519 White Pine avenue 

39 Hawthorn path 

644 Juniper avenue 

96 Hawthorn path 

274 Clematis path 

183 Hemlock avenue 

866 Lilac path 

410 Geranium path 
265 White Oak avenue 
914 Tulip path 

206 White Pine avenue 

205 White Pine avenue 

74 White Pine avenue 

756 Cherry avenue 

251 Cherry avenue 

886 Fountain avenue 

735 Althea path 

76 White Pine avenue 

865 Verbena path 

301 AVhite Oak avenue 

547 Eglantine path 

157 Holly path 

344 Cowslip path 

232 Mount Warren avenue 

120 White Pine avenue 

67 Aspen avenue 

680 Cherry avenue 

842 Linden avenue 

513 Bellflower path 

346 Green Brier path 

103 White Oak avenue 

918 Mayflower path 

584 White Oak avenue 

391 Narcissus path 

540 Eglantine path 

411 Rosemary path 
168 Violet path 

647 Mount Warren avenue 



APPENDIX. 



227 



Proprietors. 

Lefstrom, Magnus 
Leighton, Rufus 
Leman, John 
Lemon, George E. 
Lothbridge. Willard F. 
Lewis, Elijah 
Lewis, Samuel S. 
Viihhj, Julia 
Lincoln, C. D. & J. S. 
Lincoln, Joshua 
Lincoln, L. ^Y . 
Linton, AVilliam 
Linzec, John J. 
Litchfield, Simeon 
Littlefield, James 
Littleiield, Samuel S. 
Lodge, Giles H. 
Long, George W. 
Lord, Ro])crt AY. 
Loring, David 
Loring, AVilliam 
Loring, AVilliam M. 
Lothrop, Ansel 
Lothrop, Elias C. 
Loveland, Jennett L. 
Lovell, Josiah G. 
Lovering, Nathaniel P. 
Low, Ariel 
Low, Francis 
Low, John J, 
Lyford, Thomas 
Ljman, Charles 
Mackintosh, Roger S. 
Macomber, Ichabod 
Mair, George Herbert 
Mallett, Charlotte 
Mann, N. P. 
Manning, Charles 
Mansur, Samuel 
March, Andrew S. 
Marsh, John 
Marshall, Lucretia S. 
Martin, Robert 
Mason, Ezekiel F. 



No. 

947 
553 
361 
745 
920 
320 
60 
827 
524 
873 
557 
823 
603 
354 
733 
394 
404 
763 
657 
750 
816 
54 
184 
772 
825 
214 

252 

820 
92 
93 

559 

483 

938 
42 

660 

661 

150 

112 

555 

348 

469 

780 

942 

420 



Situation. 
Lupine path 



Eglantine path 
White Oak avenue 
Juniper avenue 
Iris path 
Cherry avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Oleander path 
Bellflower path 
Tulip path 
Eglantine path 
Fountain avenue 
Chrysanthemum path 
Green Brier path 
Clematis path 
AAliite Oak avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Althea path 
Azalea path 
Geranium path 
Juniper avenue 
VVhite Pine avenue 
AVhite Oak avenue 
Juniper avenue 
Fountain avenue 
Aspen avenue 
AAliite Oak avenue 
Linden avenue 
Amaranth path 
Amaranth path 
Bellflower 23ath 
Mount AVarren avenue 
Fountain avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Althea path 
Mount AVarren avenue 
Violet path 
Red Oak avenue 
Bellflower path 
Holly path 

Mount AA^arren avenue 
Oleander path 
Fountain avenue 
Cherry avenue 



228 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



Proprietors . No . 

Massy, JNIary L. 857 

Mathes, Albert R. 180 

Mathes, Charles L. 806 
Matthews, William, Jr. 859 

Maxwell, Charles 707 

May, Benjamin 702 

May, Samuel 737 

Maybin, D. Crawford 230 

Mayo, Amy 17 

Mayo, John M. 355 

McKay, William P. 164 

Melzar, Augustus P. 835 

Meriam, Abigail 554 

Meriam, Abijah S. 527 

Millard, Charles J. 536 

Miller, David 207 

Miller, George 208 

Miller, Erasmus D. 870 

Miner, John H. 975 

Minot, Albert T. 689 

Minot, William 681 

Minot, William, Jr. 266 

Molineux, Robert W. 133 

Moore, Eliza 556 

Moore, Emery N, 967 

Moorhead, William 792 
Morey, Geo., for M. Newell 716 

Morgan. Abigail 142 
Morrill, Mrs. Mary Ann 623 

Morse, George W. 897 

Morse, Horatio G. 558 

Munroe, James 37 

Munroe, Josiah J. 812 

Newcomb, James 384 

Newell, James M. 362 

Newell, Willard 711 

Newman, Robert 398 
Nichols, Charles, (for 

Miss Powars) 515 

Nichols, Lawrence 333 

Nichols, Robert C. 832 

Nichols, AYilliam S. 198 

Nickerson, Joseph 550 

Nightingale, James 632 



Situation. 

Oleander path 

Clematis path 
Lilac path 
Hyacinth path 
Cherry avenue 
Walnut avenue 
White Pine avenue 
White Oak avenue 
White Oak avenue 
Magnolia avenue" 
Verbena path 
Bellflower path 
Aster path 
Eglantine path 
Willow avenue 
Willow avenue 
Mount Warren avenue 
Fountain avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Chr3^santhemum path 
Chrysanthemum path 
Hawthorn path 
Laurel path 
Hemlock avenue 
Juniper avenue 
Linden avenue 
Hawthorn path 
Hyacinth path 
Mount AYarren avenue 
White Pine avenue 
Amaranth path 
Fountain avenue 
Hemlock avenue 
Rosemary path 
Juniper avenue 
Cherry avenue 

Bellflower path 
Clematis path 
Lilac path 
Rosemary path 
Anemone path 
Hyacinth path 



APPENDIX. 



229 



393 & 



887 & 



Proprietors. 

Nightingale, John F. 
Nuiin, Charles 
Nute, Clarissa 
Niite, Enoch 
O'Brien, ^lehitable 
Odin, (Jeorge 
Odin, John 
Osgood, Mary 
Osgood, Samuel 
Otis, Theodore 
}*acker, George 
]*age, Kilhy 
3^lge, AVillard 
Paige, Charles E. 
Palmer, Kzra, Jr. 
Palmer, Simeon, estate of 
Palmer, Stevens C. 
Palmer, AN'illiam 
Palmer, AN'illiam II. 
l*ark, Ann 
Park, John C. 
Parker, Abraham S. 
Parker, Caleb 
Parker, Moses 
3*arkinson, James 
I'arkinson, John 
I^irmelee, Asaph 
Patridge, Polly V7. 
Patten, Asa 
Patten, 1). & G. 
Paul, Joseph F. 
Pavsim, Kdwin 



]^avs(i 



mel 



Pear, Kdward 
Pear, John S. 
)*earce, William 
]^eare«^, KoVu'rt 
I^earson, (leorge W. 
]\^ck, ilannah 
I'edder, James 
] eirce, Charles H. 
]'eirce, William 
]'enniman, Fid. L. 
I'erliam, Charlotte G. 



No. Situation. 

791 Juniper avenue 

3<)5 White Oak avenue 

9()t) Fountain avenue 

82 Willow avenue 

350 Green Jirier path 

90 Narcissus path 

651 Azalea path 

247 Sweet Brier path 

4V)4 Azalea path 

575 Ailanthus path 

222 Cherry avenue 

4ii9 Geranium path 

7()(J Geranium path 

237 White Oak avenue 

888 Tulip path 

656 Chrysanthemum path 

862 Tulfp path 

959 Larch avenue 

9()0 Larch avenue 

880 Lilac path 

488 Clematis path 

179 Tupelo avenue 

143 Eliot Hills path 

3 Wliite Oak avenue 

833 Tulip path 

709 Lily patli 

2() Willow avenue 

629 Hyacinth path 

82 White Pine avenue 

426 Rosemary path 

978 Tulip path 

803 Juniper avenue 

235 Heliotrope path 

185 AVliite Oak avenue 

(i72 Hyacinth path 

213 Aspen avenue 

583 Aster path 

882 Wiiite Pine avenue 

463 Hemlock avenue 

789 Clematis ]>ath 

80 White Pine avenue 

507 Bellrtower path 

221 White Pine avenue 

7 '4 Althea path 



230 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



Proprietors . 

Perkins, Christine 
Perkins, Edward 
Perrin, Augustus W. 
Perrin, G. W. 
Perrj, Rufus A. 
Perry, William, Jr. 
Peters, Edward D. 
Pettes, George W. 
Pettes, Henry 
Pieper, Louise 
Pierce, Horace W. 
Pierce, Jonathan 
Pitman, David 
Pitman, John H. 
Plummer, John L. 
Plympton, Jeremiah 
Poland, William C. 
Pollard, Abner W. 
Pollard, George 
Pollock, George 
Pomeroy, Henry A. G. 
Pope, Holly K. 
Pope, Otis 
Pope, Thomas 
Pratt, Henry 
Pratt, Jerahmeel C. 
Pratt, Joseph 
Pray, Thomas 0. 
Prescott, Edward 
Prescott, Samuel 
Preston, Elisha H. 
Putnam, John 
Quincy, Thomas D. 
Kand, Abraham W. 
Rand, Eldred 
Rand, Isaac P. 
Rea, Archelaus 
Reed, David K. 
Remick, Ai 
Reynolds, Grindall 
Reynolds, Wm. J. 276 
Rice, William 
Richards, Isaiah D. 
Richards, Joseph L. 



JVo. 


Situation. 


543 


Pine avenue 


826 


Bellflower path 


867 


Pine avenue 


869 


Pine avenue 


123 


White Oak avenue 


470 


Mount Warren avenue 


370 


Pine avenue 


349 


White Oak avenue 


351 


White Oak avenue 


884 


Lupine path 


270 


Mount Warren avenue- 


537 


White Pine avenue 


912 


Iris path 


113 


Red Oak avenue 


38 


Green Brier path 


374 


Rosemary path 


541 


Aster path 


279 


Eliot Hills path 


340 


Hawthorn path 


278 


Heliotrope path 


649 


Woodbine path 


783 


Linden avenue 


851 


Mayflow^er path 


939 


Fountain avenue 


19 


White Oak avenue 


178 


Tupelo avenue 


240 


W hite Oak avenue 


630 


Mount Warren avenue 


388 


Eglantine path 


455 


Bellflower path 


802 


Tulip path 


84 


Red Oak avenue 


814 


Kalmia path 


281 


Heliotrope path 


28 


White Oak avenue 


419 


Cherry avenue 


223 


Cowslip path 


928 


Verbena path 


736 


Juniper avenue 


350 


Hawthorn path 


&277 


Cowslip path 


345 


Amaranth path 


314 


Aspen avenue 


523 


Eglantine path 



APPENDIX. 



231 



PrnpriAors^ No, 

Hichards, Reuben 642 

Hichardson, Abijah 017 

Richardson, John A, 605 

Richardson, John S. 574 

Richardson, Jo«iah B, 954 

Ripley, Samuel W, 596 

Ritchie, Edward S. 654 

Roach, Samuel 813 

Bobbins, Charles 949 

Bobbins, John M. 757 

Bobbins, Shepaxd 3811 

Roberts, Joseph D, 936 

Robinson, J. P. 295 

Rodgers, Ammon 773 

Rogers, Chivrles 0. 953 

Rogers, Henry, Jr. 397 

Rogers, John 136 

Rogers, John S. 565 

Rogers, S. G, 300 

Rose, Horace C. 621 

Rowell, Rufus 89 

Rowland, Edward W. 9S2 

Rumrili, Nancy 371 

RusseU, George R. 151 

Russell, Lydia S, 700 

Byerson, Ebenezer 248 
Sanbotn, Christopher P. 36 

Sanderson, John H. 429 

Sands, Edward 422 

Sanford, Philo 648 

Sargent, John T. 830 

Sargent, L. M.. Jr. 408 

.Sawyer, Alpha 339 

Sawyer, Benjamin F^ 1 

Sawyer, James 343 

Sawyer, Nathan 688 

Sawyer, Stephen h, 6S7 

Scates, Dodavah 175 

Schmidt, Henry 246 

Scott, Elbridge G, 81 

Scott, George 298 
Sears, Joeeph H.. 196 & 231 

Sears, Paul, Jr. 4 

Seaver, Benjamin 966 



Sitnation, 

IMount Warren avenue 
Azalea path 
Chrysanthemum path 
Azalea path 
Liirch avenue 
White Pine avenue 
Clematis path 
Fountain avenue 
Fountain avenue 
Grape path 
Eglantine path 
Larch avenue 
linden avenue 
Jumper avenue 
Larch avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Hawthorn path 
Eglantine path 
Cherry avenue 
White Pine avenue 
Clematis path 
Iris path 
RoseinaT-y path 
Sweet ]iricr patK 
Althea path 
Heliotrope path 
Hemlock avenue 
Aspen avenue 
Willow avenue 
Azalea path 
Lilac path 

Mount Warren avenue 
Hawthorn path 
Bellflower path 
Cowslip path 
Cherry avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Myrtle path 
Cherry avenue 
AVhite Pine avenue 
Mount Warren avenue 
Rosemary path 
W^hite Oak avenue 
Larch avenue 



232 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



Proprietors. 


No. 


Situation . 


Seaver, John C. 


259 


White Oak aveiiue 


Seaver, Joseph 


72 


White Pine avenue 


Seaver, Joshua 


69 


White Pine avenue 


Seaver, Nathaniel 


TO- 


White Pine avenue 


Seaver, Robert 


GS 


White Pine avenue 


Seaver, William 


73 


White Pine avenue 


Seaver, William D. 


2;>o 


White Oak avenue 


Seaverns, xVbijah 


477 


Mount Warren avenue 


Seaverns, Joel 


71 


White Pine avenue 


Seaverns, Thomas W. 


475 


Mount Warren avenue 


Severance, E. 11. 


389 


Rosemary path 


Sevvall, Moses 


194 


Chrysanthemum path 


Seward, Joshua 


770 


White Oak avenue 


Shales, Edward 


236 


Aspen avenue 


Shattuck, Sanuel 


62 


Cherry avenue 


Shaw, Joseph P. 


378 


Geranium path 


Shelton, Stephen 


386 


Eglantine path 


Shelton, Thomas J. 


522 


Belltlower path 


Shepherd, Betsey 


790 


Althea path 


Sherburne, Charles 


461 


Hyacinth path 


Sherman, Amory F. 


173 


Red Oak avenue 


Shimmin, Thomas D. 


973 


Cypress avenue 


Shiveriek, George 


735 


Geranium path 


Sibley, Solomon 


971 


Fountain avenue 


Sigourney, Daniel A. 


125 


iSLjss path 


Simmons, David X. 


324 


Grape path 


Simmons, George A. 
Simmons, Melvin 


325 


Grupe path 


500 


Rosemary path 


Simmons, Thomas 


323 


Grape path 
White Oak avenue 


Simpson, David 


20 


Sinclair, Thomas 


445 


Cherry avenue 


Slade, Robert 


48 


Cherry avenue 


Sleeper, John S. 


46 


Cherry avenue 


Sloan, Charles F. 


454 


Cherry avenue 


Smith, Cyrus 


521 


Anemone path 


Smith, Daniel C. 


383 


Hemlock avenue 


Smith, Daniel D. 


357 


Hemlock avenue 


Smith, Franklin 


615 


Chrysanthemum path 


Smith, George W. 


209 


Aspen avenue 


Smith, James W. 


717 


Jiinden avenue 


Smith, Joel 11. 


900 


Tulip path 


Smith, John, Capt. 


637 


Mount Warren avenue 


Smith, Joseph P. 


734 


Cherry avenue 


Smith, Martha 


428 


Geranium path 



APPENDIX. 



233 



Proprietors. 


No. 


Smith, Melancthon 


98 


Smith, Phineas B. 


444 


Smith, Thomas H. 


662 


Snow, Nathaniel 


433 


Spaulding, B. P. 


441 


Spaulding, S. R. 


440 


Spear, Susannah R. 


41 


Speare, Alden 


502 


Spence, John 


579 


Sprague, William 


962 


Stackp'ole, Reuben M. 


726 


Stanford, Joanna A. 


782 


Staunton, John L. 


759 


Steam Co. B. A N. Royal 




Mail 


66 


Steele, E. F, 


146 


Steele, Jonathan D. 




Stephenson, George A. 


739 


Stevens, Benjamin F. 


769 


Stevens, Polly 


476 


Stevens, Sarah J. 


566 


Stewart, Alexander 


740 


Stone, Baman 


729 


Stowe, Orville 


431 


Strong, George 


892 


Sturgis, James 


286 


Sturgis, Russell 


233 


Sumner, Alfred H, 


606 


Sumner, Austin 


52 


Sumner, William II. 


843 


Swallow, Daniel W. 


775 


Sweat, Thacher 


14 


Sweetser, George H. 
Swett, Samuel W. 


453 


99 


Taft, Alonzo 


478 


Taft, Charles M. 


148 


Taft, Read 


147 


Tappan, Amelia C. 


109 


Tarbell, Ehcn 


808 


Tarbell, Eben R. 


809 


Tarr, Daniel W. 


768 


Taylor, George 


624 


Taylor, Isaac 


940 


Thayer, Elias B. 


563 



Situnt'wn. 
Cherry avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Hyacinth path 
Cherry avenue 
Mount AVarren avenue 
Mount Warren avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Mount AVarren avenue 
White Pine avenue 
Larch avenue 
Juniper avenue 
Azalea path 
Juniper avenue 

Cherry avenue 
Hawthorn path 

One lot 
Cherry avenue 
Geranium path 
Mount Warren avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Chrysanthemum path 
Juniper avenue 
White Pine avenue 
Lupine path 
Sweet Brier path 
Magnolia avenue 
Chrysanthemum path 
Cherry avenue 
Summer hill 
Geranium path 
AYhite Oak avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Mount AVarren avenue 
Violet path 
Violet path 

Mount AVarrcn avenue 
Lilac path 
Lilac path 
Juniper avenue 
Mount AVarren avenue 
Ivy path 
Hyacinth path 



234 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



Proprietors. 

Thayer, John P. 
Thayer, Robert H. 
Thomas, Charles A. 
Thompson, A. C. 
Thompson, George 
Thwing, Supply C. 
Tilden, Charles L. 
Tilden, Thomas 
Tileston, Edmund P. 
Tileston, John N. 
Tileston, Nathaniel W. 
Tolman, James P. 
Torrey, John G. 
Torrey, Joseph G. 
Towle, Merribah H. 
Townsend, Eliza G. 
Townsend, John P. 743 
Train, Samuel F. 
Trescott, Elijah, Jr. 
TVueman, Jedediah L. 
Tucker, Joseph W. 
Tucker, Noah M. 
Tucker, Nathaniel 
Tucker, Nathaniel 
Tucker, Otis W. 
Tufts, Gardner G. 
Tupper, E. E. 
Turner, Henry 
Turner, Sarah Loring 
Tutein, Nancy 
Varnum, William 
Veazie, J. T. 
Vila, James 
Vose, Elijah 
Wadleigh, Dexter E. 
Wadsworth, Samuel 
Wainwright, Peter 
Waldron, John, heirs of 
"Walker, Catherine R. 
Walker, Matthew 
Walker, Samuel A. 
Walker, William L. 
Wallace, Levi 
Ward, Richard 



No, Situation. 

673 Hyacinth path 

565 Mount Warren avenue 

284 Mount Warren avenue 

159 Holly path 

746 Cherry avenue 

203 Aspen avenue 

685 Chrysanthemum path 

12 White Oak avenue 

924 Cypress avenue 

853 Mayflower path 

376 Geranium path 

714 Linden avenue 

684 Chrysanthemum path 

296 Mount Warren avenue 

254 Cherry avenue 
710 Lily path 

& 744 Chrysanthemum path 

202 Aspen avenue 

784 Linden avenue 

770 Geranium path 

117 Narcissus path 

131 Narcissus path 

844 Linden avenue 

845 Azalea path 
860 Fountain avenue 

631 Mount Warren avenue 

375 Clematis path 

489 Aster path 

937 Fountain avenue 

922 Iris path 

793 Linden avenue 

255 Aspen avenue 
124 White Oak avenue 
190 White Pine avenue 
905 Tulip path 

135 Hawthorn path 

436 Cherry avenue 

731 Geranium path 

189 Cherry avenue 

944 Fountain avenue 

679 Cherry avenue 

837 Linden avenue 

468 Clematis path 

634 Mount AVarren avenue 



APPENDIX. 



235 



Proprietors. 

Ware, Leonard 
Warren, Elvia 
AV^arrcn, Frederick 
Warren, J. M. 
Warren, J. S. 
Warren, John C. 
Waters, Ebenezer 
Wii'teruian, Isaac 
Watson, Nathan 
Watt, Robert 
Way, Samuel A. 
Webber, John 201 

Webber, John, Jr. 
Webster, Albert 
Webster, William P 
Weekes, Reuben 
Weinz, Christian 
Weir, Andrew A. 
Welch, Charles W. 
Weld, Aaron D. 
Weld, Benjamin 
Weld, Christopher M. 
AVeld, Daniel 
Weld, Francis M. 
Weld, Franklin 534 

Weld, James 
Weld, John D. 
Weld, John G. 
Weld, Nancy 
Weld, Sarah 
Weld, Stei)hen M. 
Weld, William F. 
Weld, AVilliam G. 
Wellman, William A. 
Wells, Edward 
AVells, Mary 
Wentworth, Alexander 
AVentworth, E. M. :M. 
AVentworth, E. M. M. 
AVentworth, F. B. 
AVentworth, P. H. 
AV heeler, (Jillam B. 
AVheeler, Samuel 
AVhcclock, Edward C. 



No, 

127 

894 
496 
481 
482 
484 
122 
227 
730 
899 
530 

&32G 
199 
225 
618 
678 
902 
747 
788 
518 
103 
838 
261 
841 

&535 
368 
262 
839 
319 
360 
840 
741 
742 
155 
219 
520 
528 
446 
302 
529 
75 
638 
664 
908 



Situation. 

Narcissus path 
Lu[tiue path 
Eliut Hills path 
!Mount AVarren avenue 
jNIount AVarren avenue 
JNIount AV^arren avenue 
AVhite Oak avenue 
Rosemary path 
Juniper avenue 
A^erl)eua path 
AVhite l*ine avenue 
AVillow avenue 
AVillow avenue 
Grape path 
Geranium path 
Green Brier path 
Lupine path 
Juniper avenue 
Lilac path 
Cherry avenue 
Holly path 
Linden avenue 
Amaranth path 
Azalea path 
AVhite Pine avenue 
Hemlock avenue 
Amaranth path 
Linden avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Lilac path 
Azalea path 
Linden avenue 
Linden avenue 
Holly path 
Heliotrope path 
Aster path 
AVhite Pine avenue 
AVhite Pine avenue 
Hendock avenue 
AVhite Pine avenue 
AVhite Pine avenue 
AVhite Pine avenue 
AVhite Pine avenue 
Lupine path 



236 



FOREST HILLS CEMETERY. 



Proprietors. No. 

Wheelwright, Caroline 692 

Weelwright, Josiah 693 

Wheelwright, Sarah 719 

Whipple, James 110 

Whitaker, William H. 79 

White, Abijah P. 863 

White, Benjamin C. 432 

White, Benjamin C. 665 

White, Charles A. 622 

White, David, Jr. 216 

White, Isaac D. 141 

AVhite, James T. 497 

White, Joseph A. 495 

White, Robert 608 

White, Warren L. 597 

White, William A. 269 

Whiting, Lewis F. 935 

Whiting, William 308 

Whitmore, Creighton 118 

Whitmore, G. D. 144 

Whittier, Robert R. 758 

Whitwell, William 152 

Wight, Sylvanus 249 

Wilbor, Francis 97 

Wilcox, John D. F. 927 

Wilder, Marshall P. 871 

Wiley, Thomas 218 

Willard, J. D. 544 

Willard, William D 821 

Willett, William 951 

Williams, Aaron D 77 

Williams, A. D., Jr. 78 

Williams, David W. 400 

Williams, Dudley 367 

Williams, George F. 403 
Williams, Geo.F. (Guard.) 589 

Williams, Henry H. 366 

Williams, Horace 43 

Williams, Isaac F. 107 

Williams, James 275 

Williams, John 313 
Williams, J. D., estate of 506 

Williams, John D. W. 401 

Williams, Jonathan T. 330 



Situation. 
Chrysanthemum path 
Chrysantliemum path 
Chrysanthemum path 
White Oak avenue 
White Pine avenue 
Lilac path 

Mount Warren avenue 
Linden avenue 
Mount AVarren avenue 
Aspen avenue 
Hawthorn path 
Aster path 
Viburnum path 
Ailanthus path 
Rosemary path 
Eliot Hills path 
Larch avenue 
Mount Warren avenue 
Narcissus path 
Eliot Hills path 
Juniper avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Bellflower path 
White Oak avenue 
Verbena path 
Mount Warren avenue 
White Oak avenue 
Woodbine path 
Lilac path 
White Oak avenue 
White Pine avenue 
White Pine avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Laurel path 
Cherry avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Laurel path 
Cherry avenue 
Amaranth path 
Clematis path 
Laurel path 
Cherry avenue 
Cherry avenue 
Laurel path 



proprietors. 

Williams, Joseph 
W'illiiiius, Jus. Col., heir 
Williams, .Moses 
Williams, Xehemiah D. 
Williams, Sidney B. 
AN illiams, Stedmaii 
AVilliams, Stephen 
AVilliaiiis, Thomas 
A\'illiams, Tillson 
AVillis, Hamilton 
AViudsliip, Charles M. 
Winslow, Edward 
Winslow, George 
AVinslovv, Isaac 
Winsor, Edward 
Wise, John 
Wiswall, Elisha 
AVisvvall, Samuel S. 
AVitherbee, John 13. 
AVood, Alexander 
AVood, Charles G. 
AV^oodhouse, John V. 
AVojdman, George 
AVoodman, John 
AVorthington, Caroline 
AVrightington, B. T. 
AVyman, Asa 
AV'yman, Edward 
Yerrick, Christine 
Young, Calvin 



APPENDIX. . 


No. 


Situation. 


502 


Alount Av^arren avenue 


s of 3 10 


Mount Warren avenue 


517 


Cherry avenue 


312 


Mount AV^arren avenue 


234 


Cherry avenue 


311 


Mount AV'arren avenue 


317 


Laurel path 


327 


Laurel path 


423 


M(Uint Warren avenue 


53 


Cherry avenue 


04 


Cherry avenue 


577 


Clematis path 


578 


Clematis path 


570 


Clematis path 


903 


Larch avenue 


27 


Heliotri)pe path 


645 


Clematis path 


192 


Yew avenue 


493 


Aster path 


215 


Aspen avenue 


012 


AVhite Pine avenue 


590 


Rosemary path 


780 


Juniper avenue 


752 


Juniper avenue 


425 


Mount AYarren avenue 


129 


Narcissus path 


110 


Narcissus path 




One lot 


627 


Juniper avenue 


352 


Jasmine path 



237 



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